On the morning of June 14, Earhart and Noonan moved down the Red Sea from Massawa to Assab. The flight from Assab along the Arabian coast to India would be long. Their original plan was to fly directly from Massawa to Karachi. However, there was not enough daylight to negotiate the entire distance safely. Assab was more convenient than Massawa as a jumping off point for the long distance hop as it was closer and had better facilities. Eritrea stretches along the coast of the Red Sea for 670 miles.
