Nonstop flight route between Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tenerife North Airport (TFN), Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,488 miles (or 8,832 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 Tenerife North Airport and McChord Field/McChord AFB, 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 Tenerife North Airport and McChord Field/McChord AFB. 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 Tenerife North Airport (TFN):

• Many years before the airport had even been built, the field at Los Rodeos was hastily prepared to accommodate the first flight into Tenerife operated by an Arado VI aircraft operating from Berlin on behalf of Deutsche Luft Hansa.
• By 1964, runway 12/30 had been stretched to 3,000 m to accommodate the DC-8, new navigation aids were installed, and the apron was expanded to provide more parking spaces for aircraft.
• The closest airport to Tenerife North Airport (TFN) is Tenerife-South Airport (TFS), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) SSW of TFN.
• Tenerife North Airport, formerly Los Rodeos Airport, is one of the two international airports on the island of Tenerife, Spain.
• In addition to being known as "Tenerife North Airport", another name for TFN is "Aeropuerto de Tenerife Norte".
• The furthest airport from Tenerife North Airport (TFN) is Norfolk Island Airport (NLK), which is nearly antipodal to Tenerife North Airport (meaning Tenerife North Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Norfolk Island Airport), and is located 12,175 miles (19,593 kilometers) away in Norfolk Island, Australia.
• Tenerife North Airport was the scene of the Tenerife airport disaster, to date the worst accident in aviation history.
• Tenerife North Airport handled 3,717,944 passengers last year.
• Tenerife North Airport (TFN) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):

• The furthest airport from McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,803 miles (17,386 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Part of Air Mobility Command
• Because of McChord Field/McChord AFB's relatively low elevation of 322 feet, planes can take off or land at McChord Field/McChord AFB 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 "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
• McChord also had large maintenance facilities for Air Technical Service Command during the war, serving served as a P-39 Aircobra modification center April 1944 – May 1945 for lend-lease aircraft being sent to Russia via the Alaska Territory.
• The base was the location of the first of twenty-eight stations built by ADC as part of the permanent air defense radar network, and was the top-priority site for ADC radars.
• The closest airport to McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) is Gray Army Airfield (GRF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) SW of TCM.
• In 1940 McChord Field became the headquarters of the GHQ Air Force Northwest Air District, with a mission for the defense of the Pacific Northwest and Upper Great Plains regions of the United States.
• The 62nd Troop Carrier Wing was reassigned to the Military Air Transport Service Continental Division on 1 July 1957 as TAC realigned its transport units.