Nonstop flight route between Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands and Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST), Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands and Iqaluit Airport (YFB), Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,730 miles (or 4,393 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Maastricht Aachen Airport and Iqaluit Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Maastricht Aachen Airport and Iqaluit Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST):

• Authority over what was to become known as Beek airfield, was officially transferred to the Dutch government on 1 August 1945.
• Because of Maastricht Aachen Airport's relatively low elevation of 375 feet, planes can take off or land at Maastricht Aachen Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• The furthest airport from Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,935 miles (19,207 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• A promotion campaign by the Dutch tourist board for the nearby town of Valkenburg aan de Geul, aimed at British tourists, was highly successful and brought services by Invicta Airlines, Britannia and Channel Airways.
• Maastricht Aachen Airport handled 36,300 passengers last year.
• Around 1980 the airport changed its name to "Maastricht Airport".
• The first unit to be based at the field was the 31st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, flying the F-6, a reconnaissance version of the P-51 Mustang.
• The closest airport to Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) is NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) ENE of MST.
• Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) currently has only 1 runway.
• The instrument landing system for runway 21 was upgraded to category III in 2008, which allows landings in very low visibility conditions.
• An ILS system, which allows landings in poor weather, was built in 1967, for runway 22 only.

Facts about Iqaluit Airport (YFB):

• The airport serves as a diversion airport on Polar routes.
• The closest airport to Iqaluit Airport (YFB) is Kimmirut Airport (YLC), which is located 75 miles (121 kilometers) SSW of YFB.
• The furthest airport from Iqaluit Airport (YFB) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 10,428 miles (16,782 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.
• Iqaluit Airport was originally founded as Frobisher Bay Air Base in 1942.
• Because of Iqaluit Airport's relatively low elevation of 110 feet, planes can take off or land at Iqaluit Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• Iqaluit Airport (YFB) currently has only 1 runway.
• As a result of increased traffic, Nunavut government is planning an overhaul of the airport which is expected to cost between $250 and $300 million.
• There is a persistent but false rumour that Iqaluit Airport is one of the emergency landing sites for NASA's Space Shuttle, due to the length of its runway and its geographic location.
• Since the 1950s, Frobisher Bay had earned a reputation as a technical stop for airlines flying the North Atlantic.
• In January 2012 Air Greenland announced that a 1-hour, 45-minute flight from Nuuk to Iqaluit, down from three days when going via Copenhagen or Reykjavik and then on to Ottawa, would begin 18 June 2012, later changed to 15 June.