Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Mogadishu, Somalia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Aden Adde International Airport (MGQ), Mogadishu, Somalia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,768 miles (or 12,502 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 Aden Adde 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 Wallops Flight Facility Airport and Aden Adde 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 Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):

• Wallops Flight Facility, located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, is operated by the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, primarily as a rocket launch site to support science and exploration missions for N.A.S.A.
• The Wallops Research Range includes ground-based and mobile systems, and a range control center.
• The schedule for sounding rocket launches from WFF is posted on its official Web site.
• The WFF Main Base is located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia on the Delmarva Peninsula about 5 miles west of Chincoteague, Virginia.
• Weather measurements and predictions are critical to all Research Airport operations, rocket and balloon launches, and in safely conducting hazardous operations on the ground.
• Major Wallops facilities include FAA-certified runways.
• The first payload launched into orbit from Wallops Island was Explorer IX, atop a Scout rocket, on February 15, 1961.
• The closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of 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.
• 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.
• AFSS is a project to develop an autonomous on-board system that could augment or replace traditional ground-commanded Range Safety flight termination systems.

Facts about Aden Adde International Airport (MGQ):

• In September 2013, the Turkish company Favori LLC began operations at the airport.
• As of January 2013, the airport accommodates over 40 flights per day, up from just 3 to 4 daily flights in 2011.
• The closest airport to Aden Adde International Airport (MGQ) is Baidoa Airport (BIB), which is located 138 miles (223 kilometers) WNW of MGQ.
• The furthest airport from Aden Adde International Airport (MGQ) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,824 miles (19,029 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• With the collapse of the Siad Barre regime and the ensuing civil war, the airport's ongoing renovations came to a halt.
• Aden Adde International Airport (MGQ) currently has only 1 runway.