Nonstop flight route between Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Sal Island, Cape Verde:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW), Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID), Sal Island, Cape Verde would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,418 miles (or 5,500 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 United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay and Amílcar Cabral International 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 United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay and Amílcar Cabral International 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 United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW):

• In the last quarter of the 20th century, the base was used to house Cuban and Haitian refugees intercepted on the high seas.
• The furthest airport from United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW) is RAAF Learmonth (LEA), which is located 11,820 miles (19,022 kilometers) away in Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW) is Mariana Grajales Airport (GAO), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) N of NBW.
• In 2005, the Navy completed a $12 million wind project erecting four wind turbines capable of supplying about a quarter of the base's peak power needs, reducing diesel fuel usage and pollution from the existing diesel generators, while saving $1.2 million in annual energy costs.
• In January 2009, President Obama signed executive orders directing the CIA to shut what remains of its network of "secret" prisons and ordering the closing of the Guantánamo detention camp within a year.
• During the war the base was set up to use a non-descript number for postal operations.

Facts about Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID):

• Because of Amílcar Cabral International Airport's relatively low elevation of 177 feet, planes can take off or land at Amílcar Cabral International 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 closest airport to Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID) is Aristides Pereira International Airport (BVC), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) S of SID.
• Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID) is Bellona/Anua Airport (BNY), which is nearly antipodal to Amílcar Cabral International Airport (meaning Amílcar Cabral International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Bellona/Anua Airport), and is located 12,018 miles (19,341 kilometers) away in Anua, Bellona Island, Solomon Islands.
• In 1967, Sal was used again as a refueling stop, this time by South African Airways, for flights to and from Europe, since SAA was denied landing rights by most African countries due to the international boycott of apartheid.
• The first airport on Sal Island was built in 1939 by Italy, as a fuel and provisions stopping-point on routes from Rome to South America.
• Amílcar Cabral International Airport handled 576 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Amílcar Cabral International Airport", another name for SID is "Aeroporto Internacional Amílcar Cabral".