Nonstop flight route between Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,108 miles (or 8,221 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 Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring 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 Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield. 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 Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS):

• Schiphol's name is derived from a former fortification named Fort Schiphol which was part of the Stelling van Amsterdam defence works.
• Because of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol's relatively low elevation of -11 feet, planes can take off or land at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol 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 Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) is Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) WSW of AMS.
• Pier D is the largest pier and has two levels.
• Schiphol opened on 16 September 1916 as a military airbase, with a few barracks and a field serving as platform and runways.
• Departure Hall 2 consists of Piers D and E.
• Schiphol is an important European airport, ranking as Europe's 4th busiest and the world's 14th busiest by total passenger traffic in 2013.
• Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) has 6 runways.
• Schiphol has its own mortuary, where the dead can be handled and kept before departure or after arrival.
• In addition to being known as "Amsterdam Airport Schiphol", another name for AMS is "Luchthaven Schiphol".
• The furthest airport from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,847 miles (19,066 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS):

• At Webb AFB, the last two pilot training classes completed course work on 30 August 1977, and fixed wing qualification training ended on 1 September 1977.
• At that time, nearly 6,000 students had graduated and the field's training aircraft had flown approximately 400,000 hours and more than 60 million miles.
• 78th Flying Training Wing
• The furthest airport from Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,166 miles (17,969 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS) is Midland Airpark (MDD), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) WSW of BGS.
• The Air Force established a standard wing structure—a dual deputy concept—in 1963.