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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO), Nairobi, Kenya would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,995 miles (or 14,476 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 Jomo Kenyatta 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 Jomo Kenyatta 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):

• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.
• 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.
• 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 facility first was used by the United States Army Air Forces as Big Spring Army Air Field, opening on 28 April 1942 as part of the Central Flying Training Command.
• 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.
• In August 1972, ATC established a pilot instructor training course for Vietnamese Air Force instructors at Webb AFB, Texas.
• 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.

Facts about Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO):

• Traffic at the airport grows at a rate of 12 percent per annum and is expected to hit the 25 million mark by 2025.
• An addition to the existing terminal building, Unit 4, is under construction at a cost of 9.4 billion Kenyan shillings and is slated to open in 2013.
• The closest airport to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) is Wilson Airport (WIL), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) W of NBO.
• A new instrument landing system-equipped runway 5,500 metres in length has been approved for construction at a cost of 12.8 billion Kenyan shillings.
• Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,621 miles (18,703 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• On 7 August 2013, a fire originating in the immigration area caused massive damage to the airport and forced it to suspend operations temporarily.
• The main entrance to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is on Airport South Road, which can be accessed by an exit from the A109 expressway.
• International arrivals are bused to a temporary facility set up in the ground floor of the new parkade.
• On 5 August 2013, an airlock in the main pipeline that delivers jet fuel to the airport caused all inbound flights to the airport to be diverted to other airfields.
• Jomo Kenyatta International Airport handled 580,363 passengers last year.
• Because of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport's high elevation of 5,327 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at NBO. Combined with a high temperature, this could make NBO a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.