Nonstop flight route between Plymouth, United Kingdom and Des Moines, Iowa, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from PLH to DSM:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- PLH Airport Information
- DSM Airport Information
- Facts about PLH
- Facts about DSM
- Map of Nearest Airports to PLH
- List of Nearest Airports to PLH
- Map of Furthest Airports from PLH
- List of Furthest Airports from PLH
- 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 Plymouth City Airport (PLH), Plymouth, United Kingdom and Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Des Moines, Iowa, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,078 miles (or 6,563 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 Plymouth City 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 Plymouth City 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: | PLH / EGHD |
Airport Name: | Plymouth City Airport |
Location: | Plymouth, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 50°25'22"N by 4°6'20"W |
Area Served: | Plymouth |
Operator/Owner: | Plymouth City Council |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 476 feet (145 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PLH |
More Information: | PLH 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 Plymouth City Airport (PLH):
- Further support for the continued use of the airport came in February 2008 when Air Southwest and the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce & Industry announced the results of an air travel survey aimed at over 200 businesses in Plymouth.
- Plymouth City Airport handled 157,933 passengers last year.
- In September 2007 the airport management announced that the second runway might be sold for industrial and residential development.
- The closest airport to Plymouth City Airport (PLH) is Exeter International Airport (EXT), which is located 37 miles (60 kilometers) NE of PLH.
- The furthest airport from Plymouth City Airport (PLH) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is nearly antipodal to Plymouth City Airport (meaning Plymouth City Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dunedin International Airport), and is located 12,030 miles (19,361 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- Air Southwest had its management head office at the airport, but announced that 12 jobs would be lost and its Plymouth office would close, moving instead to Humberside Airport, which is the main operations base for Eastern Airways.
- Plymouth City Airport (PLH) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Plymouth City Airport's relatively low elevation of 476 feet, planes can take off or land at Plymouth City 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 Des Moines International Airport (DSM):
- 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.
- Des Moines International Airport (DSM) has 2 runways.
- 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.
- Interior renovation work began in 2009 on the airport and concluded in 2010.
- 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.
- As of March 2014, Delta Air Lines handled of DSM passengers, followed by United Airlines, American Airlines, US Airways, Southwest Airlines, Allegiant Airlines, and Frontier Airlines.
- On December 18, 2010, a small red Beechcraft Bonanza crashed while performing an emergency landing at DSM.
- This airport is in in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which called it a primary commercial service airport.