Nonstop flight route between Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Catania, Italy:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BIF to NSY:
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- About this route
- BIF Airport Information
- NSY Airport Information
- Facts about BIF
- Facts about NSY
- Map of Nearest Airports to BIF
- List of Nearest Airports to BIF
- Map of Furthest Airports from BIF
- List of Furthest Airports from BIF
- Map of Nearest Airports to NSY
- List of Nearest Airports to NSY
- Map of Furthest Airports from NSY
- List of Furthest Airports from NSY
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY), Catania, Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,337 miles (or 10,199 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 Biggs Army Airfield and Naval Air Station Sigonella, 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 Biggs Army Airfield and Naval Air Station Sigonella. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BIF / KBIF |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 31°50'57"N by 106°22'47"W |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Army ATCA-ASO |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 3946 feet (1,203 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from BIF |
More Information: | BIF Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | NSY / LICZ |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Catania, Italy |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°24'6"N by 14°55'19"E |
Operator/Owner: | Italian Air Force United States Navy |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 79 feet (24 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from NSY |
More Information: | NSY Maps & Info |
Facts about Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):
- The closest airport to Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is El Paso International Airport (ELP), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) S of BIF.
- In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
- After World War II, B-29 Superfortress personnel replacement training ended in October.
- The furthest airport from Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,387 miles (18,325 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
- Prior to the takeover of Biggs by SAC in October 1948, it had previously moved the B-29 Superfortress-equipped 97th Bombardment Group to the base in May.
- Along with the B-50-equipped 97th Bomb Wing, Strategic Air Command established the 95th Bombardment Wing at Biggs in June 1952 and planned to base its heavy B-36 Peacemaker heavy bomber at the base.
- Enough construction was completed by the late summer of 1942, to allow the 303d Bombardment Group to began training with B-17Fs under Second Air Force on 7 August.
Facts about Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY):
- Among the aircraft that fly from this island base are U.S.
- Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY) has 2 runways.
- Because of Naval Air Station Sigonella's relatively low elevation of 79 feet, planes can take off or land at Naval Air Station Sigonella at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- On the night of 10 October 1985, there were tense hours on NAS II when the Italian Carabinieri, Italian Air Force, and the US Army's Delta Force came close to firing upon one another following the interception by Navy F-14 Tomcat fighters of an Egyptian Boeing 737 airliner carrying the hijackers of the Italian cruise ship, the Achille Lauro, which had been commandeered by members of the PLO on 7 October.
- The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,695 miles (18,821 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Most permanent party military personnel and families are housed in Marinai, located 2 minutes from NAS II and approximately 10–15 minutes from NAS I.
- In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Sigonella", other names for NSY include "Base aerea di Sigonella" and "NAS Sigonella".
- The closest airport to Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY) is Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) ENE of NSY.
- On 1 April 2004, the Defense Logistics Agency opened Defense Depot Sigonella Italy on NAS II to serve as a supply base for the Mediterranean.