Originally Posted by
Asturias56
Why not fly across N Spain? Or did they refuse permission as well?
I don't recall them granting permission, and at the time they were not in the integrated military command structure, as they later came to be. They only joined NATO in 1982.
For the Libyan raid, the United States was denied overflight rights by France, Spain, and Italy as well as the use of European continental bases, forcing the USAF portion of the operation to be flown around France and Spain, over Portugal and through the Straits of Gibraltar, adding 1,300 miles (2,100 km) each way and requiring multiple aerial refuelings.[17][18] The French refusal alone added 2,800 km.
For Less Hair: not sure what you are driving at, but perhaps winds aloft were not as forecast?