Nonstop flight route between Pinellas County, Florida (near St. Petersburg and Clearwater), United States and Al Najaf, Iraq:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE), Pinellas County, Florida (near St. Petersburg and Clearwater), United States and Al Najaf International Airport (NJF), Al Najaf, Iraq would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,032 miles (or 11,317 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 St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport and Al Najaf 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 St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport and Al Najaf 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 St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE):

• The airport is located on the west shoreline of Tampa Bay, six miles north of St.
• Because of St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at St. Pete–Clearwater 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 airport includes a 24-hour airport rescue and fire-fighting department, facilities, operations, engineering, security, and administrative personnel.
• The 304th Fighter Squadron, a combat training unit of the 337th Fighter Group based P-40 Warhawks and, later, P-51 Mustangs at Pinellas Army Airfield for the duration of World War II.
• The furthest airport from St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,426 miles (18,388 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport uses "Tampa Bay The Easy Way" as an advertising slogan and Fly2PIE in reference to its three-letter IATA and FAA codes.
• In the 1950s some airlines provided service to both PIE and TPA, such as Delta Air Lines, Eastern Air Lines, National Airlines and Northwest Airlines.
• This historic event marked the beginning of commercial air transportation anywhere in the world and is commemorated by a replica of the Benoist aircraft and a plaque at the airport terminal baggage claim area.
• This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service airport since it has over 10,000 passenger boardings per year.
• St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) has 4 runways.
• The closest airport to St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) is Clearwater Air Park (CLW), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NW of PIE.

Facts about Al Najaf International Airport (NJF):

• The closest airport to Al Najaf International Airport (NJF) is Baghdad International Airport (BGW), which is located 88 miles (142 kilometers) N of NJF.
• Since 2009, there is more airlines flied to Najaf, including Gulf Air, Middle East Airlines, Qatar Airways, Syrian Air and Turkish Airlines.
• On 20 July 2008 the Najaf Authorities hosted the ceremonial opening attended by the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki who stepped out of the first official plane.
• Al Najaf International Airport (NJF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Al Najaf International Airport (NJF) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,820 miles (19,022 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.