Nonstop flight route between Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar and Rhine, Germany:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SMS to ZPQ:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- SMS Airport Information
- ZPQ Airport Information
- Facts about SMS
- Facts about ZPQ
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMS
- List of Nearest Airports to SMS
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMS
- List of Furthest Airports from SMS
- Map of Nearest Airports to ZPQ
- List of Nearest Airports to ZPQ
- Map of Furthest Airports from ZPQ
- List of Furthest Airports from ZPQ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Sainte Marie Airport (SMS), Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar and Rheine-Bentlage Air Base (ZPQ), Rhine, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,426 miles (or 8,731 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 Sainte Marie Airport and Rheine-Bentlage Air 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 Sainte Marie Airport and Rheine-Bentlage Air Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMS / FMMS |
Airport Name: | Sainte Marie Airport |
Location: | Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar |
GPS Coordinates: | 17°5'38"S by 49°48'56"E |
Area Served: | Sainte Marie, Analanjirofo, Madagascar |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 7 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMS |
More Information: | SMS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | ZPQ / ETHE |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Rhine, Germany |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°17'31"N by 7°23'5"E |
Operator/Owner: | Federal Ministry of Defence |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 128 feet (39 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from ZPQ |
More Information: | ZPQ Maps & Info |
Facts about Sainte Marie Airport (SMS):
- The closest airport to Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) is Toamasino Airport (TMM), which is located 76 miles (122 kilometers) SSW of SMS.
- Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Sainte Marie Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Sainte Marie 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 Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) is Guerrero Negro Airport (GUB), which is located 11,161 miles (17,962 kilometers) away in Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
Facts about Rheine-Bentlage Air Base (ZPQ):
- The closest airport to Rheine-Bentlage Air Base (ZPQ) is Münster Osnabrück International Airport (FMO), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) SE of ZPQ.
- The furthest airport from Rheine-Bentlage Air Base (ZPQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,825 miles (19,030 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Because of Rheine-Bentlage Air Base's relatively low elevation of 128 feet, planes can take off or land at Rheine-Bentlage Air Base 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 "Rheine-Bentlage Air Base", another name for ZPQ is "(Advanced Landing Ground B-108)".
- In 1974, the CH-53 replaced the by now obsolete Sikorsky H-34 and has been in service ever since.
- In October 2011 the German Federal Ministry of Defence announced a reorganisation/reduction of the German Armed Forces.
- Rheine-Bentlage Air Base (ZPQ) currently has only 1 runway.
- In 1939 works to build an air base for the Luftwaffe began.