Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Kadhdhoo Island, Laamu Atoll, Maldives:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Kadhdhoo Airport (KDO), Kadhdhoo Island, Laamu Atoll, Maldives would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,049 miles (or 14,563 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 Wallops Flight Facility Airport and Kadhdhoo 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 Wallops Flight Facility Airport and Kadhdhoo 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 Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):

• Because of Wallops Flight Facility Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Wallops Flight Facility 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 1945, NASA's predecessor agency, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, established a rocket launch site on Wallops Island under the direction of the Langley Research Center.
• The Wallops mobile range instrumentation includes telemetry, radar, command and power systems.
• The Wallops Flight Facility also supports science missions for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and occasionally for foreign governments and commercial organizations.
• The Wallops Visitor Center has a variety of hands-on exhibits and hosts weekly educational activities and programs to enable children to explore and learn about the technologies designed and used by NASA researchers and scientists.
• The closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of WAL.
• The furthest airport from Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,785 miles (18,965 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The WFF mobile range assets have been used to support rocket launches from locations in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, South America, Africa, Europe, Australia, and at sea.
• The first payload launched into orbit from Wallops Island was Explorer IX, atop a Scout rocket, on February 15, 1961.

Facts about Kadhdhoo Airport (KDO):

• Kadhdhoo Airport (KDO) currently has only 1 runway.
• When the Maldivian president Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom assumed office in 1978, some of the most pressing problems faced by the country were the immense difficulty involved in traveling between Malé and the outlying islands and the adverse effects in the Maldivian fishing industry due to illegal entry of foreign fishing vessels into the Maldivian territorial waters.
• From its initial conception the project ranks among the development program initiated by President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom the project implementation was supervised by the Minister of Trade and Industries-cum-Deputy Minister of Defense and National Security, Ilyas Ibrahim.
• Because of Kadhdhoo Airport's relatively low elevation of 4 feet, planes can take off or land at Kadhdhoo 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 Kadhdhoo Airport (KDO) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,313 miles (18,206 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• The closest airport to Kadhdhoo Airport (KDO) is Thimarafushi Airport (TMF), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) NW of KDO.
• Special mention has to be made of First Lieutenant Kairu Tuttu Maniku for his active role in the implementation of the project.
• In addition to being known as "Kadhdhoo Airport", another name for KDO is "ކައްދޫ އެއަރޕޯޓް".