Nonstop flight route between Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom and Madison, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK), Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom and Madison Municipal Airport (XMD), Madison, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,889 miles (or 6,259 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 Madison Municipal 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 Madison Municipal 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 Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK):

• Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) has 2 runways.
• However on 21 April 2008, during a BBC Two radio interview with Ken Bruce, theatre impresario and chairman of Everton F.C., Bill Kenwright, said that Elvis actually spent a day in the UK being shown around London by Tommy Steele in 1958.
• 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.
• Since 2007 the airport has occasionally been used by BBC motoring TV show Top Gear as the location for various stunts and experiments.
• The airport was owned by Infratil, a New Zealand company and majority owner of Wellington International Airport Infratil also owned Manston Airport until November 2013.
• In the beginning Prestwick was the only Scottish airport allowed to operate a transatlantic link, largely due to the benign weather conditions on the Ayrshire coast.
• The airport began life around 1934 — primarily as a training airfield — with a hangar, offices and control tower were constructed by the end of 1935.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) is Glasgow International Airport (GLA), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) NNE of PIK.
• Today BAE Systems retains a small facility at Prestwick for its BAE Systems Regional Aircraft division, with the adjoining main manufacturing site, producing components for Airbus and Boeing aircraft, having been sold to Spirit AeroSystems in January 2006.
• Glasgow-Prestwick Airport handled 1,145,836 passengers last year.

Facts about Madison Municipal Airport (XMD):

• Madison Municipal Airport (XMD) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Madison Municipal Airport (XMD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,587 miles (17,039 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Madison Municipal Airport", another name for XMD is "MDS".
• Madison Municipal Airport is a city-owned public use airport located one nautical mile northeast of the central business district of Madison, a city in Lake County, South Dakota, United States.
• The closest airport to Madison Municipal Airport (XMD) is Brookings Regional Airport (BKX), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) NNE of XMD.