Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Xiamen, Fujian, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN), Xiamen, Fujian, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,723 miles (or 12,430 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 Xiamen Gaoqi 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 Xiamen Gaoqi 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 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 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.
• Instruction of the first class began in April 1952.
• 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.
• 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 base was declared surplus and was turned over to the War Assets Administration after being closed.
• 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 Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN):

• The furthest airport from Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN) is Tartagal "General Enrique Mosconi" Airport (TTG), which is nearly antipodal to Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (meaning Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tartagal "General Enrique Mosconi" Airport), and is located 12,257 miles (19,725 kilometers) away in Tartagal, Salta, Argentina.
• Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN) is Kinmen Airport (Kinmen Shang Yi Airport) (KNH), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) ESE of XMN.
• Because of Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport's relatively low elevation of 59 feet, planes can take off or land at Xiamen Gaoqi 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.
• In addition to being known as "Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport", other names for XMN include "厦门高崎国际机场" and "Xiàmén Gāoqí Guójì Jīchǎng".
• Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport handled 17,354,076 passengers last year.