Nonstop flight route between Spokane, Washington, United States and Portimão, Algarve, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA), Spokane, Washington, United States and Portimão Airport (PRM), Portimão, Algarve, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,134 miles (or 8,263 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 Portimão 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 Portimão 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):

• As military operations in Vietnam escalated in the mid-1960s, the demand for air refueling increased.
• 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.
• As an added incentive to the War Department, many Spokane businesses and public-minded citizens donated money to purchase land for the base.
• 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 1995 aircraft from Fairchild flew to Travis AFB, California in support of its first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty mission, transporting Russian inspectors to sites in the Western U.S.
• Fairchild AFB is named in honor of General Muir S.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Fairchild Air Force Base", another name for SKA is "Fairchild AFB".
• 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 Portimão Airport (PRM):

• The closest airport to Portimão Airport (PRM) is Faro International Airport (FAO), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) ESE of PRM.
• In addition to being known as "Portimão Airport", another name for PRM is "Aeródromo Municipal de Portimão".
• Because of Portimão Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Portimão 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 Portimão Airport (PRM) is Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR), which is nearly antipodal to Portimão Airport (meaning Portimão Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dargaville Aerodrome), and is located 12,276 miles (19,756 kilometers) away in Dargaville, New Zealand.
• Portimão Airport (PRM) currently has only 1 runway.