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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Gibraltar International Airport (GIB), Gibraltar would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,255 miles (or 8,456 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 Gibraltar 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 Gibraltar 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):

• Instruction of the first class began in April 1952.
• 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.
• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.
• The airfield and flight line was converted to an uncontrolled/UNICOM-only general aviation airport renamed Big Spring McMahon-Wrinkle Airport, serving the City of Big Spring.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 facility was brought back into service as a primary training installation because of the Korean War and the need for additional pilots.

Facts about Gibraltar International Airport (GIB):

• The furthest airport from Gibraltar International Airport (GIB) is Whangarei Airport (WRE), which is nearly antipodal to Gibraltar International Airport (meaning Gibraltar International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Whangarei Airport), and is located 12,406 miles (19,965 kilometers) away in Whangarei, New Zealand.
• From 2011 until October 2012, EasyJet offered thrice-weekly service from Gibraltar to Liverpool, but it was eventually cancelled due to lack of demand.
• In addition to being known as "Gibraltar International Airport", another name for GIB is "(North Front Airport)".
• Gibraltar International Airport handled 383,013 passengers last year.
• Although located in Gibraltar, the airport is also used by people travelling to or from neighbouring parts of the southern Spain such as the Costa del Sol or the Campo de Gibraltar.
• The road across the runway is constraining operations at the airport, especially with the increase in operations since the Córdoba Agreement.
• On 3 November 2003, Monarch announced a new route from Gibraltar to Manchester Airport.
• The closest airport to Gibraltar International Airport (GIB) is Ceuta Heliport (JCU), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) S of GIB.
• The terminal is 35,000 m2, which is 15,000 m2 bigger than the old terminal.
• Because of Gibraltar International Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Gibraltar International 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.
• Gibraltar International Airport (GIB) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 14 August 2012, Monarch announced it would launch a new route to Birmingham, operating three times a week.