Nonstop flight route between Madison, South Dakota, United States and Ramstein, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Madison Municipal Airport (XMD), Madison, South Dakota, United States and Ramstein Air Base (RMS), Ramstein, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,549 miles (or 7,320 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 Madison Municipal Airport and Ramstein 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 Madison Municipal Airport and Ramstein Air Base. 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 Madison Municipal Airport (XMD):

• Madison Municipal Airport (XMD) has 2 runways.
• Madison Municipal Airport covers an area of 375 acres at an elevation of 1,718 feet above mean sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Madison Municipal Airport", another name for XMD is "MDS".
• The closest airport to Madison Municipal Airport (XMD) is Brookings Regional Airport (BKX), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) NNE of XMD.
• The furthest airport from Madison Municipal Airport (XMD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,587 miles (17,039 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Ramstein Air Base (RMS):

• The closest airport to Ramstein Air Base (RMS) is Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) ENE of RMS.
• Ramstein Air Base also served as temporary housing for the United States men's national soccer team during the 2006 World Cup.
• During the initial postwar era, the USAAF repaired several former Luftwaffe airfields in Bavaria which was part of the American occupation zone of Germany.
• The furthest airport from Ramstein Air Base (RMS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Ramstein Air Base (meaning Ramstein Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,003 miles (19,316 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The new 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing stood up on 4 September 2008.
• One legacy of the two separate air bases is that the north side of Ramstein retained a separate APO from the south side.
• The host unit is the 86th Airlift Wing, commanded by Brigadier General Patrick X.
• In addition to being known as "Ramstein Air Base", another name for RMS is "Ramstein AB".
• With the creation of NATO in response to Cold War tensions in Europe in 1949, USAFE wanted its vulnerable fighter units in what was then West Germany moved west of the Rhine River to provide greater air defense warning time.