Nonstop flight route between Santander, Cantabria, Spain and Minot, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santander Airport (SDR), Santander, Cantabria, Spain and Minot Air Force Base (MIB), Minot, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,366 miles (or 7,027 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 Santander Airport and Minot 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 Santander Airport and Minot 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 Santander Airport (SDR):

• Because of Santander Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Santander 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.
• In addition to being known as "Santander Airport", other names for SDR include "Aeropuerto de Santander" and "Aeropuerto de Parayas".
• The furthest airport from Santander Airport (SDR) is Kaikoura Aerodrome (KBZ), which is nearly antipodal to Santander Airport (meaning Santander Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kaikoura Aerodrome), and is located 12,289 miles (19,777 kilometers) away in Kaikoura, New Zealand.
• Santander Airport (SDR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Santander Airport (SDR) is Bilbao Airport (BIO), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) E of SDR.

Facts about Minot Air Force Base (MIB):

• The 4th Post Attack Command & Control Squadron at Ellsworth AFB, SD maintained several EC-135 "Looking Glass" Aircraft on an alert at MAFB for coverage of the missile squadrons as a secondary Launch Control Center.
• Construction of Minot AFB began in May 1956 and it officially opened on 10 January 1957, named for the nearby city of Minot.
• The furthest airport from Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,320 miles (16,609 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Minot Air Force Base", another name for MIB is "Minot AFB".
• Additionally on 12 July 2008, three Air Force officers fell asleep while in control of an electronic component that contained old launch codes for nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles, a violation of procedure, Air Force officials said.
• Renamed Aerospace Defense Command in 1968, ADC F-106 operations continued at Minot until ADC was deactivated in 1979 and became a part of Tactical Air Command as a subentity referred to as Tactical Air Command – Air Defense.
• In July 1968, the 450th Bombardment Wing and 455th Strategic Missile Wing were inactivated, being from Travis AFB, California, when jurisdiction of Travis was assumed by the Military Airlift Command and the 91st Strategic Missile Wing from Glasgow AFB, Montana, when it closed.
• Originally opened in 1957 as an Air Defense Command base, Minot AFB became a major Strategic Air Command base in the early 1960s, with both nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles and manned bombers and aerial refueling aircraft.
• The closest airport to Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Minot International Airport (MOT), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSE of MIB.