Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Niamey, Niger:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Diori Hamani International Airport (NIM), Niamey, Niger would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,961 miles (or 9,594 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 Diori Hamani 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 Diori Hamani 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 319th transitioned from B-52H to re-engined B-52G aircraft in 1983, and added the AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile in 1984.
• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.
• Due to the continuance of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, GFAFB was originally an Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor air base.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• 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".
• 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.
• Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.
• 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.

Facts about Diori Hamani International Airport (NIM):

• Diori Hamani International Airport handled 154,460 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Diori Hamani International Airport (NIM) is Aéroport de Futuna - Pointe-Vele Pointe Vele Airport (FUT), which is nearly antipodal to Diori Hamani International Airport (meaning Diori Hamani International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Aéroport de Futuna - Pointe-Vele Pointe Vele Airport), and is located 12,377 miles (19,919 kilometers) away in Futuna Island, Wallis and Futuna Islands.
• Because of Diori Hamani International Airport's relatively low elevation of 732 feet, planes can take off or land at Diori Hamani 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.
• Diori Hamani International Airport is an airport in Niamey, the capital of Niger.
• The closest airport to Diori Hamani International Airport (NIM) is Kantchari Airport (XKA), which is located 84 miles (135 kilometers) SSW of NIM.
• Diori Hamani International Airport (NIM) has 2 runways.
• ASECNA operates the "African School for Meteorology and Civil Aviation/Ecole Africaine de la Météorologie et de l'Aviation Civile" at the Niamey airport complex, as well as in the Plateau quarter of Niamey city centre.