Nonstop flight route between Altenrhein, Switzerland and Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from ACH to BIF:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- ACH Airport Information
- BIF Airport Information
- Facts about ACH
- Facts about BIF
- Map of Nearest Airports to ACH
- List of Nearest Airports to ACH
- Map of Furthest Airports from ACH
- List of Furthest Airports from ACH
- Map of Nearest Airports to BIF
- List of Nearest Airports to BIF
- Map of Furthest Airports from BIF
- List of Furthest Airports from BIF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH), Altenrhein, Switzerland and Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,671 miles (or 9,126 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 St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport and Biggs Army Airfield, 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 St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport and Biggs Army Airfield. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | ACH / LSZR |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Altenrhein, Switzerland |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°29'7"N by 9°33'39"E |
Area Served: | St. Gallen, Switzerland and Lake Constance |
Elevation: | 1306 feet (398 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from ACH |
More Information: | ACH Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH):
- St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (meaning St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,051 miles (19,394 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- In addition to being known as "St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport", another name for ACH is "People's Business Airport".
- The airport features a small passenger terminal building and some apron and hangar stands for aircraft such as the Embraer 170, business jets or general aviation planes such as the Cessna 172.
- The nearest bigger airport is Friedrichshafen Airport in Germany, on the opposite side of Lake Constance to the northwest by ferry).
- The airport can be reached via motorway A1.
- The closest airport to St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH) is Hohenems-Dornbirn Airport (HOH), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) SE of ACH.
Facts about Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):
- In April 1943, the airfield came under the command of the Second Air Force and became headquarters for the XX Bomber Command.
- 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.
- 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".
- Beginning in 1950, the 97th Bomb Wing received its first B-50 Superfortress, an improved version of the B-29 capable of delivering atomic weapons.
- The 97th Air Refueling Squadron, activated in March 1949, saw its manning increase as it received its first KB-29P in January 1950.
- A period of organization and continued construction followed, with II Bomber Command taking over training.
- Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- 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.
- What is now Biggs Army Airfield started life in 1915 as an encampment at Fort Bliss, Texas for the 82d Field Artillery.