Nonstop flight route between Niamey, Niger and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Diori Hamani International Airport (NIM), Niamey, Niger and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,036 miles (or 11,324 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 Diori Hamani International Airport and McChord Field/McChord AFB, 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 Diori Hamani International Airport and McChord Field/McChord AFB. 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 Diori Hamani International Airport (NIM):

• ASECNA operates the "African School for Meteorology and Civil Aviation/Ecole Africaine de la Météorologie et de l'Aviation Civile" at the Niamey airport complex, as well as in the Plateau quarter of Niamey city centre.
• The closest airport to Diori Hamani International Airport (NIM) is Kantchari Airport (XKA), which is located 84 miles (135 kilometers) SSW of NIM.
• Diori Hamani International Airport (NIM) has 2 runways.
• Diori Hamani International Airport handled 154,460 passengers last year.
• Diori Hamani International Airport is an airport in Niamey, the capital of Niger.
• In 2004, the airport served 97,814 passengers.
• The furthest airport from Diori Hamani International Airport (NIM) is Aéroport de Futuna - Pointe-Vele Pointe Vele Airport (FUT), which is nearly antipodal to Diori Hamani International Airport (meaning Diori Hamani International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Aéroport de Futuna - Pointe-Vele Pointe Vele Airport), and is located 12,377 miles (19,919 kilometers) away in Futuna Island, Wallis and Futuna Islands.
• Because of Diori Hamani International Airport's relatively low elevation of 732 feet, planes can take off or land at Diori Hamani 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.

Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):

• The closest airport to McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) is Gray Army Airfield (GRF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) SW of TCM.
• The furthest airport from McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,803 miles (17,386 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• In 1940 McChord Field became the headquarters of the GHQ Air Force Northwest Air District, with a mission for the defense of the Pacific Northwest and Upper Great Plains regions of the United States.
• Because of McChord Field/McChord AFB's relatively low elevation of 322 feet, planes can take off or land at McChord Field/McChord AFB 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.
• On 1 August 1946, McChord was assigned to the new Air Defense Command, with a mission of air defense of the United States.
• The McChord Air Force Base facility was consolidated with the United States Army Fort Lewis on 1 February 2010 to become part of the Joint Base Lewis-McChord complex.
• In 1958, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center, and Combat Center was established at McChord.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• In 1968, McChord AFB was relieved of its assignment to the subsequently renamed Aerospace Defense Command and was reassigned to Military Airlift Command as one of three MAC bases in the western United States operating the C-141 Starlifter.
• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.