Nonstop flight route between Sharjah, United Arab Emirates and Des Moines, Iowa, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sharjah International Airport (SHJ), Sharjah, United Arab Emirates and Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Des Moines, Iowa, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,414 miles (or 11,931 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 Sharjah International Airport and Des Moines 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 Sharjah International Airport and Des Moines 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 Sharjah International Airport (SHJ):

• In addition to being known as "Sharjah International Airport", another name for SHJ is "مطار الشارقة الدولي".
• Sharjah Airport is the second largest Middle East airfreight hub in cargo tonnage, according to official 2009 statistics from Airports Council International.
• Because of Sharjah International Airport's relatively low elevation of 116 feet, planes can take off or land at Sharjah 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.
• The furthest airport from Sharjah International Airport (SHJ) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,763 miles (18,931 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• Sharjah International Airport (SHJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Sharjah International Airport handled 7,516,538 passengers last year.
• The number of passengers passing through Sharjah International Airport has drastically increased in the past decade.
• The closest airport to Sharjah International Airport (SHJ) is Dubai International Airport (DXB), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) WSW of SHJ.

Facts about Des Moines International Airport (DSM):

• The airport hosts the Des Moines Air National Guard Base and 132d Fighter Wing of the Iowa Air National Guard.
• The furthest airport from Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,789 miles (17,363 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to work inside the passenger terminal, the airport is building a rental car facility and new parking facilities.
• Because of Des Moines International Airport's relatively low elevation of 958 feet, planes can take off or land at Des Moines 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.
• On March 13, 2008, an Atlanta-bound ASA flight was delayed more than five hours when a mouse was discovered shortly before take-off from DSM.
• The closest airport to Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is Ankeny Regional Airport (IKV), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NNE of DSM.
• Des Moines International Airport (DSM) has 2 runways.