Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Almaty, Kazakhstan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Almaty International Airport (ALA), Almaty, Kazakhstan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,214 miles (or 11,610 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 Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield and Almaty International Airport, 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 Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield and Almaty International Airport. 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 Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS):

• Webb AFB was turned over to the General Services Agency for disposal on 1 January 1978 and the property later turned over to the Big Spring Industrial Park.
• 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.
• In 1956, the Air Defense Command 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was transferred to Webb from Stewart Air Force Base in New York to defend the southern United States border on air intercept missions as part of the Central Air Defense Force.
• The base was declared surplus and was turned over to the War Assets Administration after being closed.
• The airfield was activated as Big Spring Air Force Base on 1 October 1951 by the United States Air Force Air Training Command and established the 3560th Pilot 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.
• By the mid-1970s, the end of the Vietnam War, the associated financial costs of that conflict and related cuts in USAF force structure and future defense budgets meant a marked decrease in the need for Air Force pilots.

Facts about Almaty International Airport (ALA):

• On 9 July 1999 a fire started in the shashlik kitchen of the airport restaurant.
• The airport was built in 1935, for all small civil/military flying ships.
• The closest airport to Almaty International Airport (ALA) is Manas International Airport (FRU), which is located 131 miles (211 kilometers) W of ALA.
• Following a runway reconstruction in 1998, Almaty airport was awarded II category and status of an International Airport.
• Almaty International Airport (ALA) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Almaty International Airport", other names for ALA include "Халықаралық Алматы Әуежайы" and "Международный Аэропорт Алматы".
• The supersonic transport Tupolev Tu-144 went into service on 26 December 1975, flying mail and freight between Moscow and Alma-Ata in preparation for passenger services, which commenced in November 1977.
• The furthest airport from Almaty International Airport (ALA) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,261 miles (18,123 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.