Louis Armstrong New Orleans International to Perot Fld/Fort Worth Alliance Airport MSY → AFW
404 nautical miles (465 statute miles) northwest on a straight line, true course 298°, about 299° magnetic at the departure end (variation 1W). At 120 knots that is 3 h 15 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 4-knot tailwind), arriving about 4:11 am CDT (09:11 UTC), after sunset at the destination. Right now MSY is VFR, wind calm; AFW is VFR, wind from the south-southeast (160°) at 12 knots, gusting to 20. 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: 10 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 MSY.
Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first
No pilot reports within 50 nautical miles of the line in the last three hours.
Winds aloft along the route, and the time en route the forecast for use 02:00–09:00 UTC · at 120 knots true airspeed
The westbound cruising heights for this course (VFR: even thousands plus 500 ft; above 18,000 ft the forecast levels), with the wind averaged along the line from the 4 forecast points nearest it (MSY, LCH, SHV, DAL). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.
| Height | Average wind | Head- or tailwind | Temperature | Ground speed | Time en route | Arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,500 ft | 190° at 16 kt | −4 kt | 124 kt | 3 h 15 min | 4:11 am CDT (09:11 UTC) | |
| 6,500 ft | 210° at 15 kt | 0 | 17 °C | 120 kt | 3 h 22 min | 4:18 am CDT (09:18 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 210° at 13 kt | +2 kt | 13 °C | 118 kt | 3 h 25 min | 4:21 am CDT (09:21 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 230° at 11 kt | +5 kt | 10 °C | 115 kt | 3 h 31 min | 4:27 am CDT (09:27 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 250° at 10 kt | +7 kt | 7 °C | 113 kt | 3 h 35 min | 4:31 am CDT (09:31 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 260° at 11 kt | +8 kt | 3 °C | 112 kt | 3 h 36 min | 4:32 am CDT (09:32 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 260° at 11 kt | +9 kt | -1 °C | 111 kt | 3 h 38 min | 4:34 am CDT (09:34 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 260° at 11 kt | +10 kt | -4 °C | 110 kt | 3 h 40 min | 4:36 am CDT (09:36 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 260° at 14 kt | +12 kt | -15 °C | 108 kt | 3 h 44 min | 4:40 am CDT (09:40 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 300° at 30 kt | +30 kt | -30 °C | 90 kt | 4 h 29 min | 5:25 am CDT (10:25 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 310° at 32 kt | +31 kt | -40 °C | 89 kt | 4 h 32 min | 5:28 am CDT (10:28 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 320° at 34 kt | +32 kt | -52 °C | 88 kt | 4 h 35 min | 5:31 am CDT (10:31 UTC) |
Based on data from the 12th at 00:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 06:00 UTC for use 02:00 to 09:00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSY | used from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line | 110/5 | 150/6 19° | L/V 12° | 310/5 7° | 310/13 -4° | 290/20 -16° | 330/36 -31° | 330/37 -41° | 350/43 -52° |
| LCH | used from 98 nm out; 66 nm from the line | 160/21 | 160/18 18° | 180/13 12° | 230/6 8° | 280/10 -4° | 260/13 -14° | 310/29 -30° | 320/32 -40° | 330/33 -53° |
| SHV | used from 197 nm out; 47 nm from the line | 200/18 | 230/24 18° | 230/24 12° | 240/14 8° | 260/12 -4° | 240/11 -15° | 300/31 -29° | 300/32 -40° | 300/36 -52° |
| DAL | used from 295 nm out; 59 nm from the line | 190/29 | 220/23 17° | 220/17 13° | 250/18 8° | 230/18 -5° | 240/18 -15° | 270/34 -29° | 280/33 -39° | 300/36 -51° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSY New Orleans, LA | departure | VFR Sky: a broken layer at 25,000 feet | calm | 10+ mi | 25,000 ft | 3 ft | 11:53 pm CDT (04:53 UTC) |
| HDC Hammond, LA | 20 nm out, 24 nm north of the line, tower | VFR | calm | 10+ mi | none | 46 ft | 05:35 UTC |
| BTR Baton Rouge, LA | 59 nm out, 8 nm northeast of the line, tower | VFR | calm | 10+ mi | none | 69 ft | 05:53 UTC |
| OPL Opelousas, LA | 98 nm out, 15 nm southwest of the line | VFR | calm | 10+ mi | none | 74 ft | 05:35 UTC |
| AEX Alexandria, LA | 138 nm out, 16 nm north of the line, tower | VFR | from the southeast (140°) at 4 knots | 10+ mi | none | 88 ft | 04:53 UTC |
| GGG Longview, TX | 266 nm out, 24 nm north of the line, tower | VFR | from the south (190°) at 7 knots | 10+ mi | none | 365 ft | 05:53 UTC |
| TYR Tyler, TX | 295 nm out, 8 nm north of the line, tower | VFR | from the south (170°) at 11 knots | 10+ mi | none | 543 ft | 04:53 UTC |
| TRL Terrell, TX | 345 nm out, 8 nm north of the line | VFR | from the south-southeast (160°) at 6 knots | 10+ mi | none | 474 ft | 04:53 UTC |
| HQZ Mesquite, TX | 364 nm out, 4 nm northeast of the line, tower | VFR | from the east (100°) at 5 knots | 10+ mi | none | 446 ft | 05:35 UTC |
| AFW Fort Worth, TX | destination | VFR | from the south-southeast (160°) at 12 knots, gusting to 20 | 10+ mi | none | 723 ft | 11:53 pm CDT (04:53 UTC) |
The highest airport on this list sits at 723 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At AFW when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 4:11 am CDT (09:11 UTC)
Wind from the south at 10 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies VFR
The whole forecast for AFW
- From Mon 1:00 am CDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the south at 10 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
- From Mon 9:00 am CDT (14:00 UTC): wind from the south at 13 knots, gusting to 23, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 23,000 feet
- From Mon 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the south at 10 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet
The forecast for MSY, the departure
- From Mon 1:00 am CDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the southeast at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 9/2934 DALLAS, TX 5 nm from the route, 374 nm along the route · a VIP movement · ZFW
- 6/8646 Arlington, TX, Thursday, October 15, 2026 through Friday, October 16, 2026 UTC 8 nm from the route, 384 nm along the route · drones kept away from a public gathering · starts Thursday 15 October · ZFW
Daylight
Sunset at MSY 6:33 pm CDT (23:33 UTC), at AFW 6:59 pm CDT (23:59 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:24 pm CDT (00:24 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at AFW is before sunrise there (7:31 am CDT (12:31 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: Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, Perot Fld/Fort Worth Alliance Airport.