Nonstop flight route between Aranuka, Kiribati and Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Aranuka Airport (AAK), Aranuka, Kiribati and Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF), Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,413 miles (or 11,930 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 Aranuka Airport and Westover Air Reserve Base, 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 Aranuka Airport and Westover Air Reserve Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Aranuka Airport (AAK):

• Because of Aranuka Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Aranuka Airport 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.
• The closest airport to Aranuka Airport (AAK) is Abemama Atoll Airport (AEA), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NNE of AAK.
• The furthest airport from Aranuka Airport (AAK) is Cape Palmas Airport (CPA), which is nearly antipodal to Aranuka Airport (meaning Aranuka Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cape Palmas Airport), and is located 12,108 miles (19,486 kilometers) away in Cape Palmas, Liberia.

Facts about Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF):

• Numerous Airborne Engineer Aviation battalions were activated and trained at Westover, to include the 871st, 872d, 873d, 877th, 878th, 879th, 880th, and 881st.
• The closest airport to Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (BAF), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) WSW of CEF.
• On 1 June 1948 Air Transport Command was reorganized into the Military Air Transport Service, and Westover was designated as Headquarters, Atlantic Division, Military Air Transport Service.
• With the end of World War II, Westover Field was designated as a permanent United States Army Air Force installation in 1945 and was not inactivated as most of the wartime temporary training airfields were in the fall of 1945.
• Westover Field was designed to be nearly self-sufficient, with not only hangars, but barracks, warehouses, hospitals, dental clinics, dining halls, and maintenance shops were needed.
• Detonation in August 1949 by the Soviet Union of an atomic bomb spawned a new strategy in the military, calling for massive retaliation in the event of an attack.
• In addition to being known as "Westover Air Reserve Base", another name for CEF is "Westover ARB".
• The furthest airport from Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,731 miles (18,880 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• During World War II Westover saw the training and formation of Airborne engineer aviation battalions to be used for rapidly establishing airfields in forward areas.
• Westover was also the launching point of the heroic Berlin Airlift for 327 days during the Soviet blockade.
• Westover Air Reserve Base is an Air Force Reserve Command installation located in the Massachusetts communities of Chicopee and Ludlow, near the city of Springfield, Massachusetts.