Nonstop flight route between Punta Raisi (near Palermo), Italy and Des Moines, Iowa, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Falcone–Borsellino Airport (PMO), Punta Raisi (near Palermo), Italy and Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Des Moines, Iowa, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,258 miles (or 8,462 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 Falcone–Borsellino 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 Falcone–Borsellino 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Falcone–Borsellino Airport (PMO):

• In 1994, GESAP was charged with the partial management of the airport through a convention which granted the company a 20-year mandate to run land-side activities.
• The furthest airport from Falcone–Borsellino Airport (PMO) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,805 miles (18,999 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airport was given the name Falcone–Borsellino in memory of the two leading anti-mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino who were murdered by the mafia in 1992.
• Falcone–Borsellino Airport (PMO) has 2 runways.
• Because of Falcone–Borsellino Airport's relatively low elevation of 65 feet, planes can take off or land at Falcone–Borsellino 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 Falcone–Borsellino Airport (PMO) is Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) WSW of PMO.
• In addition to being known as "Falcone–Borsellino Airport", another name for PMO is "Aeroporto Falcone e Borsellino".
• On 30 May 2004, ENAC awarded GESAP an "airport certificate" in recognition of the airport's full conformity with the regulations set down in ENAC's "regulations for the construction and management of airports".
• The airport's rail facility, Punta Raisi railway station, is the northwestern terminus of Palermo metropolitan railway service.
• Today, after having recently transferred its handling sector to a controlled company, GH Palermo, GESAP is awaiting a ministerial decree that will grant it a forty-year concession for the total management of the airport.
• Falcone–Borsellino Airport handled 4,349,672 passengers last year.
• In April 2004, GESAP was awarded UNI ISO 9001/2000 certification.

Facts about Des Moines International Airport (DSM):

• The airport was originally governed by the City of Des Moines' Parks Department.
• Des Moines International Airport (DSM) has 2 runways.
• Des Moines International Airport covers 2,625 acres at an elevation of 958 feet above mean sea level.
• 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 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 is a civil-military public airport three miles southwest of Des Moines, in Polk County, Iowa.
• Interior renovation work began in 2009 on the airport and concluded in 2010.
• 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.
• This airport is in in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which called it a primary commercial service airport.
• On December 1, 2007, a United Express plane carrying 44 passengers slid off a taxiway while taxiing to the runway for takeoff.