Nonstop flight route between Sembach, Germany and Vieques, Puerto Rico, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX), Sembach, Germany and Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS), Vieques, Puerto Rico, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,531 miles (or 7,292 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 Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base and Antonio Rivera Rodríguez 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 Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base and Antonio Rivera Rodríguez 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 Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX):

• In January 1958, it was announced that the 66th TRW would transition to the RF-101 Voodoo.
• In the middle of April 1952, the residents of Sembach learned that the land to the north of the now completed flightline was to be used for the construction of multi-story barracks and office buildings.
• In February 1957, the RB-57s of the 30th TFS at Sembach were also being replaced by the Douglas RB-66 Destroyer.
• During the Cold War, Sembach Air Base housed a variety of USAF Tactical Reconnaissance, Close Air Support and Tactical Air Control units as a front line NATO air base.
• The furthest airport from Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,992 miles (19,299 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• With this announcement, and everyone being satisfied, Sembach became a center of activity once more, and construction of the administrative area of the base began in October 1952.
• Sembach's origins date back to 1919 after World War I when French occupation troops used the eastern half of the present flightline as an airfield.
• Although the Air Base was constructed in the French Zone of Occupation under French direction, it was built to be used by NATO forces and was, moreover, intended to be an American Air Base from the beginning.
• The closest airport to Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX) is Ramstein Air Base (RMS), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) WSW of SEX.

Facts about Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS):

• The closest airport to Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS) is Diego Jiménez Torres Airport (FAJ), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NW of VQS.
• Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport handled 165,043 passengers last year.
• Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (meaning Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,239 miles (19,697 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at Antonio Rivera Rodríguez 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.
• Early in 2005, plans were announced to expand the airport's lone runway, so that the airport can accept flights by smaller jets.
• When anti-military demonstrators started flocking into Vieques, both by air and sea, in 1999, Vieques Airport saw a considerable increase to its normal yearly average of passengers.