Nonstop flight route between Dakhla, Western Sahara and Gander, Newfoundland, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dakhla Airport (VIL), Dakhla, Western Sahara and Gander International Airport (YQX), Gander, Newfoundland, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,720 miles (or 4,378 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 Dakhla Airport and Gander 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 Dakhla Airport and Gander 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 Dakhla Airport (VIL):

• Dakhla Airport (VIL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is operated by the Moroccan state-owned company ONDA.
• In addition to being known as "Dakhla Airport", another name for VIL is "GMMH/GSVO".
• Dakhla Airport handled 4,206 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Dakhla Airport (VIL) is Nouadhibou International Airport (NDB), which is located 205 miles (330 kilometers) SSW of VIL.
• Because of Dakhla Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Dakhla 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 Dakhla Airport (VIL) is Tontouta International Airport (NOU), which is nearly antipodal to Dakhla Airport (meaning Dakhla Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tontouta International Airport), and is located 12,256 miles (19,725 kilometers) away in Noumea, New Caledonia.

Facts about Gander International Airport (YQX):

• In late-1985, Gander was the site of the Arrow Air Flight 1285 disaster, in which a McDonnell Douglas DC-8 with 256 people on board crashed during takeoff due to atmospheric icing.
• The Royal Canadian Navy also established Naval Radio Station Gander at the airfield, using the station as a listening post to detect the transmissions and location of enemy submarines and warships.
• Because of Gander International Airport's relatively low elevation of 496 feet, planes can take off or land at Gander 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 closest airport to Gander International Airport (YQX) is St. John's International Airport (YYT), which is located 124 miles (199 kilometers) SE of YQX.
• The airport was the site for Canada's memorial service to mark the first anniversary of the attack, over which Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, Transport Minister David Collenette, US Ambassador to Canada Paul Cellucci, and provincial and local officials presided.
• Gander International Airport (YQX) has 2 runways.
• To honour the people of Gander and Halifax for their support during the operation, Lufthansa named a new Airbus A340-300 "Gander/Halifax" on May 16, 2002.
• The furthest airport from Gander International Airport (YQX) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 11,395 miles (18,338 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.