Midland International Air And Space Port to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International MAF → MSY
626 nautical miles (720 statute miles) east on a straight line, true course 098°, about 089° magnetic at the departure end (variation 9E). At 120 knots that is 4 h 17 min at the quickest height in today's winds (30,000 ft, a 26-knot tailwind), arriving about 10:42 am CDT (15:42 UTC). Right now MAF is VFR, wind from the south (180°) at 14 knots; MSY is VFR, wind calm. For planning, not a briefing: the legal preflight briefing comes from Flight Service (1-800-WX-BRIEF) or the FAA's own tools. Airlines fly this pair: 2 flights in the DOT's last twelve reported months, the route's page.
The route the straight line, the warnings crossed, restrictions, pilot reports and the airports along the way · click a mark for its words
Green, blue, red and purple airport dots are the flying conditions reported there now (VFR, marginal VFR, IFR, low IFR); grey means no report. Red areas are SIGMETs, orange areas AIRMETs, hatched red areas temporary flight restrictions. Map tiles: OpenFreeMap, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Warnings the route crosses SIGMETs and AIRMETs whose area the line passes through or comes within 25 nm of
No SIGMET or AIRMET covers any part of this route right now.
A SIGMET warns of weather hazardous to all aircraft; an AIRMET of weather that matters to small aircraft and to flying without instruments. "From 60 to 180 nm out" is measured along the route from MAF.
Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first
Not fetched just now.
Winds aloft along the route, and the time en route the forecast for use 08:00–15:00 UTC · at 120 knots true airspeed
The eastbound cruising heights for this course (VFR: odd thousands plus 500 ft; above 18,000 ft the forecast levels), with the wind averaged along the line from the 5 forecast points nearest it (INK, ABI, CLL, LCH, MSY). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.
| Height | Average wind | Head- or tailwind | Temperature | Ground speed | Time en route | Arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,500 ft | 170° at 20 kt | +6 kt | 114 kt | 5 h 29 min | 11:54 am CDT (16:54 UTC) | |
| 5,500 ft | 180° at 20 kt | +4 kt | 20 °C | 116 kt | 5 h 24 min | 11:49 am CDT (16:49 UTC) |
| 7,500 ft | 180° at 15 kt | +2 kt | 17 °C | 118 kt | 5 h 18 min | 11:43 am CDT (16:43 UTC) |
| 9,500 ft | 200° at 9 kt | −1 kt | 13 °C | 121 kt | 5 h 10 min | 11:35 am CDT (16:35 UTC) |
| 11,500 ft | 210° at 7 kt | −2 kt | 9 °C | 122 kt | 5 h 08 min | 11:33 am CDT (16:33 UTC) |
| 13,500 ft | 230° at 8 kt | −5 kt | 4 °C | 125 kt | 5 h | 11:25 am CDT (16:25 UTC) |
| 15,500 ft | 240° at 10 kt | −8 kt | 0 °C | 128 kt | 4 h 53 min | 11:18 am CDT (16:18 UTC) |
| 17,500 ft | 250° at 12 kt | −10 kt | -5 °C | 130 kt | 4 h 49 min | 11:14 am CDT (16:14 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 250° at 13 kt | −11 kt | -6 °C | 131 kt | 4 h 47 min | 11:12 am CDT (16:12 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 260° at 20 kt | −20 kt | -14 °C | 140 kt | 4 h 28 min | 10:53 am CDT (15:53 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 280° at 25 kt | −26 kt | -29 °C | 146 kt | 4 h 17 min | 10:42 am CDT (15:42 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 300° at 24 kt | −23 kt | -39 °C | 143 kt | 4 h 23 min | 10:48 am CDT (15:48 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 320° at 29 kt | −22 kt | -51 °C | 142 kt | 4 h 25 min | 10:50 am CDT (15:50 UTC) |
Based on data from the 12th at 06:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 12:00 UTC for use 08:00 to 15:00 UTC; temperatures above 24,000 ft are below zero. Heights are above sea level; a height is left out when the forecast has no wind for it over most of the line (the ground is higher). Ground speed is the airspeed less the headwind; the time en route is for the straight line and ignores climb, descent and routing around weather.
The forecast points as issued
| Point | From | 3,000 | 6,000 | 9,000 | 12,000 | 18,000 | 24,000 | 30,000 | 34,000 | 39,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INK | used from 0 nm out; 76 nm from the line | 220/17 21° | 230/12 14° | 210/13 7° | 220/29 -5° | 240/41 -14° | 230/43 -28° | 250/41 -38° | 250/33 -51° | |
| ABI | used from 50 nm out; 67 nm from the line | 200/30 19° | 220/12 16° | 220/11 9° | 230/15 -5° | 250/26 -15° | 250/39 -28° | 270/36 -38° | 280/30 -51° | |
| CLL | used from 199 nm out; 91 nm from the line | 180/24 | 170/21 19° | 180/10 14° | 230/7 8° | 230/16 -6° | 260/20 -13° | 290/23 -29° | 320/21 -39° | 340/35 -51° |
| LCH | used from 397 nm out; 58 nm from the line | 170/21 | 160/23 18° | 170/13 13° | 170/6 8° | 300/12 -7° | 280/16 -14° | 320/27 -30° | 330/23 -41° | 340/38 -51° |
| MSY | used from 546 nm out; 55 nm from the line | 150/9 | 140/8 18° | L/V 13° | L/V 6° | 320/15 -5° | 310/16 -16° | 320/32 -31° | 340/35 -40° | 350/34 -52° |
The weather now: both ends and the airports along the way public airports with a weather report within 25 nm of the line, one for each stretch
| Airport | Where | Conditions | Wind | Visibility | Ceiling | Elevation | Reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAF Midland, TX | departure | VFR | from the south (180°) at 14 knots | 10+ mi | none | 2,872 ft | 5:53 am CDT (10:53 UTC) |
| BPG Big Spring, TX | 30 nm out, 21 nm north of the line | VFR | from the south (190°) at 10 knots | 10+ mi | none | 2,572 ft | 11:15 UTC |
| SJT San Angelo, TX | 89 nm out, 23 nm south of the line, tower | VFR | from the south (170°) at 7 knots | 10+ mi | none | 1,918 ft | 10:51 UTC |
| COM Coleman, TX | 139 nm out, 15 nm north of the line | VFR | from the south-southeast (160°) at 7 knots | 10+ mi | none | 1,696 ft | 11:15 UTC |
| GRK Fort Hood (Killeen), TX | 228 nm out, 18 nm south of the line, tower | marginal VFR Sky: scattered clouds at 2,400 feet, a broken layer at 3,000 feet | from the southeast (140°) at 7 knots | 9 mi | 3,000 ft | 1,015 ft | 11:15 UTC |
| ACT Waco, TX | 258 nm out, 20 nm north of the line, tower | VFR | from the southeast (130°) at 6 knots | 10+ mi | none | 516 ft | 10:51 UTC |
| UTS Huntsville, TX | 348 nm out, 15 nm south of the line | VFR | from the east (090°) at 3 knots | 10+ mi | none | 362 ft | 10:53 UTC |
| JAS Jasper, TX | 427 nm out, 10 nm north of the line | IFR Sky: overcast at 2,500 feet Weather: mist | calm | 2 mi | 2,500 ft | 212 ft | 11:15 UTC |
| CWF Lake Charles, LA | 477 nm out, 21 nm south of the line, tower | VFR | calm | 10+ mi | none | 16 ft | 11:00 UTC |
| LFT Lafayette, LA | 536 nm out, 8 nm south of the line, tower | VFR | calm | 10+ mi | none | 40 ft | 10:53 UTC |
| BTR Baton Rouge, LA | 576 nm out, 21 nm north of the line, tower | VFR | calm | 10+ mi | none | 69 ft | 10:53 UTC |
| MSY New Orleans, LA | destination | VFR Sky: a few clouds at 25,000 feet | calm | 10+ mi | none | 3 ft | 5:53 am CDT (10:53 UTC) |
The highest airport on this list sits at 2,872 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At MSY when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 10:42 am CDT (15:42 UTC)
Wind from the southeast at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies VFR
The whole forecast for MSY
- From Mon 7:00 am CDT (12:00 UTC): wind from the southeast at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
The forecast for MAF, the departure
- From Mon 1:00 am CDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the south at 13 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/4240 SAN ANGELO, TX, Sunday, March 8, 2026 through Sunday, November 1, 2026 Local 21 nm from the route, 99 nm along the route · security · until 1 November · ZFW
- 6/0543 MCGREGOR, TX 5 nm from the route, 248 nm along the route · security · ZFW
Daylight
Sunset at MAF 7:19 pm CDT (00:19 UTC), at MSY 6:33 pm CDT (23:33 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:57 pm CDT (23:57 UTC)).
Each restriction opens the FAA's own page with the exact area, heights and times. Ordinary notices to air missions (closed runways, lights out) are not shown: the FAA's notice search is not open to sites like this one at this time.
Radar and forecast charts for the regions crossed government pictures, the latest each time the page loads
Sources: the Aviation Weather Center's data service (SIGMETs, AIRMETs, graphical AIRMETs, pilot reports, winds and temperatures aloft, observations and terminal forecasts), the National Weather Service radar, the Weather Prediction Center's charts, the FAA's temporary flight restriction list and shapes, and the FAA's airport file for the positions, elevations and magnetic variation. Fetched when the page is viewed and kept a few minutes. Each leg is the straight line between its two airports; airways, terrain and airspace are not considered. The airports in detail: Midland International Air And Space Port, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International.