Nonstop flight route between Spokane, Washington, United States and Plovdiv, Bulgaria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA), Spokane, Washington, United States and Plovdiv Airport (PDV), Plovdiv, Bulgaria would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,831 miles (or 9,384 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 Fairchild Air Force Base and Plovdiv 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 Fairchild Air Force Base and Plovdiv 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 Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA):

• The host unit at Fairchild is the 92d Air Refueling Wing assigned to the Air Mobility Command's Eighteenth Air Force.
• As an added incentive to the War Department, many Spokane businesses and public-minded citizens donated money to purchase land for the base.
• The furthest airport from Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,665 miles (17,163 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• In addition to being known as "Fairchild Air Force Base", another name for SKA is "Fairchild AFB".
• On 24 June 1994 one of the few remaining B-52H aircraft at Fairchild crashed during a practice flight for an upcoming air show, killing all four crew members.
• On 23 January 1987, following the inactivation of the 47th Air Division at Fairchild, the 92nd Bombardment Wing was reassigned to the 57th Air Division at Minot AFB, North Dakota.
• In June 1992, with the inactivation of Strategic Air Command, the B-52 portion of the wing became part of the newly established Air Combat Command and was re-designated the 92d Bomb Wing.
• The closest airport to Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Spokane International Airport (GEG), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) E of SKA.
• In late 1974, the Air Force announced plans to convert the 141st Fighter Interceptor Group of the Washington Air National Guard, an F-101 Voodoo unit at Geiger Field, to an air refueling mission with KC-135 aircraft.

Facts about Plovdiv Airport (PDV):

• The closest airport to Plovdiv Airport (PDV) is Haskovo Malevo Airport (HKV), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) E of PDV.
• On 25 December 2009 the first service to a scheduled destination, Moscow, started.
• Plovdiv Airport handled 8,752 passengers last year.
• Because of Plovdiv Airport's relatively low elevation of 597 feet, planes can take off or land at Plovdiv 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 "Plovdiv Airport", other names for PDV include "Krumovo Airport" and "Летище Пловдив".
• On 2 May 1962 the airport operations moved to the Graf Ignatievo Airbase north of the city.
• The furthest airport from Plovdiv Airport (PDV) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,355 miles (18,273 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Plovdiv Airport (PDV) currently has only 1 runway.
• The new passenger terminal building was officially opened on 1 July 2009.
• On the west side of the airport is located 24th Helicopter Air Base of the Bulgarian Air Force, with Eurocopter AS 532, Mil Mi-24, Mil Mi-17 and Bell 206 units.