Nonstop flight route between Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom and Des Moines, Iowa, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from PIK to DSM:
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- About this route
- PIK Airport Information
- DSM Airport Information
- Facts about PIK
- Facts about DSM
- Map of Nearest Airports to PIK
- List of Nearest Airports to PIK
- Map of Furthest Airports from PIK
- List of Furthest Airports from PIK
- Map of Nearest Airports to DSM
- List of Nearest Airports to DSM
- Map of Furthest Airports from DSM
- List of Furthest Airports from DSM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK), Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom and Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Des Moines, Iowa, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,897 miles (or 6,271 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 Glasgow-Prestwick Airport and Des Moines 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 Glasgow-Prestwick Airport and Des Moines International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PIK / EGPK |
Airport Name: | Glasgow-Prestwick Airport |
Location: | Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 55°30'33"N by 4°35'39"W |
Area Served: | Glasgow, Prestwick, Strathclyde, Scotland |
Operator/Owner: | Scottish Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 65 feet (20 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from PIK |
More Information: | PIK Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DSM / KDSM |
Airport Name: | Des Moines International Airport |
Location: | Des Moines, Iowa, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 41°32'2"N by 93°39'47"W |
Area Served: | Des Moines, Iowa |
Operator/Owner: | City of Des Moines |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 958 feet (292 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from DSM |
More Information: | DSM Maps & Info |
Facts about Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK):
- Scottish Aviation built a factory using the original terminal building and hangars at Prestwick, which from 1974 produced such aircraft as the Prestwick Pioneers, and later the Jetstream and Bulldog.
- Since 2007 the airport has occasionally been used by BBC motoring TV show Top Gear as the location for various stunts and experiments.
- Glasgow-Prestwick Airport handled 1,145,836 passengers last year.
- In response, Mark Rodwell, chief executive of Prestwick Airport, told BBC Radio Scotland, that until it was proved otherwise Prestwick Airport remains the only place in the United Kingdom that Elvis Presley ever set foot.
- Because of Glasgow-Prestwick Airport's relatively low elevation of 65 feet, planes can take off or land at Glasgow-Prestwick 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 Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) is Glasgow International Airport (GLA), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) NNE of PIK.
- The furthest airport from Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,764 miles (18,932 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
- Today, part of the Prestwick site is occupied by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm with RNAS Prestwick, where a detachment of 3 Sea Kings provide a search and rescue role, covering one of the largest SAR areas of the UK including Ben Nevis, the Lakes, Northern Ireland and 200 NM past the Irish coast.
- There had been proposed plans drawn up pre-war for the post war years which would have been classed as extremely ambitious, especially in the austere post-war years.
- Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) has 2 runways.
Facts about Des Moines International Airport (DSM):
- Because of Des Moines International Airport's relatively low elevation of 958 feet, planes can take off or land at Des Moines 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 furthest airport from Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,789 miles (17,363 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Des Moines International Airport covers 2,625 acres at an elevation of 958 feet above mean sea level.
- Des Moines International Airport (DSM) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is Ankeny Regional Airport (IKV), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NNE of DSM.
- The airport was originally governed by the City of Des Moines' Parks Department.
- The Des Moines Terminal has 2 concourses.
- On March 13, 2008, an Atlanta-bound ASA flight was delayed more than five hours when a mouse was discovered shortly before take-off from DSM.