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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Paro International Airport (PBH), Paro, Bhutan would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,255 miles (or 13,284 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 Paro 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 Paro 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• Construction of the Army Air Forces Bombardier School began on 15 May 1942, and the airfield received its first class of cadets on 16 September 1942.
• In 1968, ATC established a single phase-pilot training squadron concept at Webb.
• 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.
• 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

Facts about Paro International Airport (PBH):

• Paro International Airport (PBH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Paro International Airport (PBH) is Cooch Behar Airport (COH), which is located 65 miles (104 kilometers) SSE of PBH.
• The furthest airport from Paro International Airport (PBH) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,281 miles (18,155 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Paro Airport is the only international airport of Bhutan.
• The airport has a single, 6,445 feet asphalt runway.
• Because of Paro International Airport's high elevation of 7,300 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at PBH. Combined with a high temperature, this could make PBH a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In 2012 it was reported that 181,659 passengers used the airport.