Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Medellín, Colombia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and José María Córdova International Airport (MDE), Medellín, Colombia would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,164 miles (or 5,093 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 Grand Forks Air Force Base and José María Córdova 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 Grand Forks Air Force Base and José María Córdova 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 Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• The furthest airport from Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,504 miles (16,904 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• The closest airport to Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) E of RDR.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• On 3 November 1967, the Department of Defense revealed that GFAFB was one of 10 initial locations to host a Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile site.

Facts about José María Córdova International Airport (MDE):

• The airport serves all major international and domestic routes in contrast to Olaya Herrera Airport which serves the Medellín area with regional flights and airlines.
• Because of José María Córdova International Airport's high elevation of 7,027 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MDE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MDE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The airport is named Jose Maria Cordova, in honor of this character, besides being a native of Antioquia and the city where the airport was built,who held senior positions in the administration, and played important roles in the history of the nation.
• The furthest airport from José María Córdova International Airport (MDE) is Radin Inten II Airport (RIA II) (TKG), which is nearly antipodal to José María Córdova International Airport (meaning José María Córdova International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Radin Inten II Airport (RIA II)), and is located 12,361 miles (19,892 kilometers) away in Bandar Lampung, Sumatra, Indonesia.
• José María Córdova International Airport (MDE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Between 1930 and 1932, three wealthy families in the metropolitan area of Medellin, began with the idea of providing the city with an airport, as they were part of the Colombian Air Navigation Company which sought to carry passengers and mail from the city of Medellin to Puerto Berrio, then along the Magdalena River and ultimately connect the cities of Medellin and Bogotá.
• The closest airport to José María Córdova International Airport (MDE) is Olaya Herrera Airport (EOH), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) WNW of MDE.
• In addition to being known as "José María Córdova International Airport", another name for MDE is "Aeropuerto Internacional José María Córdova".
• Since its inauguration in 1985 until 1990, the terminal had heavy passenger and cargo movement, in part because the Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport, which is located in Medellín, was closed.