Nonstop flight route between Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany and Del Rio, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mainz Finthen Airport (QMZ), Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany and Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF), Del Rio, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,447 miles (or 8,766 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 Mainz Finthen Airport and Laughlin Air Force Base, 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 Mainz Finthen Airport and Laughlin Air Force Base. 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 Mainz Finthen Airport (QMZ):

• The airport serves the general aviation community, with no commercial airline service available.
• Allied Army units moved into the Mainz area in mid-March 1945 as part of the Western Allied invasion of Germany and Ober-Olm airfield was attacked by Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauder medium bombers and P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bombers to deny the retreating German forces use of the facility.
• Mainz Finthen Airport (QMZ) has 2 runways.
• After the combat in France ended, Ober-Olm became a "Defense of the Reich" airfield, with numerous night fighter units moving in and out until the spring of 1945.
• Because of Mainz Finthen Airport's relatively low elevation of 525 feet, planes can take off or land at Mainz Finthen 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 Mainz Finthen Airport (QMZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,959 miles (19,246 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Mainz Finthen Airport (QMZ) is Lucius D. Clay KaserneWiesbaden Army AirfieldWiesbaden Air BaseAdvanced Landing Ground Y-80Fliegerhorst Wiesbaden (WIE), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) NE of QMZ.
• The airport was first opened in 1939 as a Luftwaffe military airfield.
• With the end of the war, Ober Olm Airfield was closed on 20 June 1945.
• On 16 and 17 November 1980, Holy Mass was celebrated by Pope John Paul II during his first major pastoral visit to Germany on the airfield with thousands of believers attending.
• In addition to being known as "Mainz Finthen Airport", other names for QMZ include "Flugplatz Mainz-Finthen" and "Advanced Landing Ground Y-64".

Facts about Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF):

• Laughlin Air Force Base is a facility of the United States Air Force located in Del Rio, Texas.
• The closest airport to Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF) is Del Rio International Airport (DRT), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) W of DLF.
• Laughlin AFB is served by the San Felipe Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District.
• Another 4080th pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr., perished when his U-2 was hit by shrapnel from a Soviet-made SA-2 on October 22, 1962 while overflying Cuba from McCoy AFB.
• The furthest airport from Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,241 miles (18,091 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• As of the census of 2014, there were 2,225 people, 651 households, and 570 families residing on the base.
• Aside from the reservoir outside of Del Rio for fishing and some lake diving, most forms of recreation are either in the town of Del Rio or across the border in Ciudad Acuña, however current DoD policy does not allow travel across the border for military personnel.