Nonstop flight route between Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Catania, Sicily, Italy:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA), Catania, Sicily, Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,340 miles (or 10,203 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 Biggs Army Airfield and Catania–Fontanarossa 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 Biggs Army Airfield and Catania–Fontanarossa 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 Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):

• Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 1920 Camp Owen Bierne opened on the site of the current airbase as a base for airship operations but the units were soon disbanded.
• In 1958, the ability of the B-47 to penetrate Soviet airspace became compromised by improvements to the Soviet air defense system.
• After World War II, B-29 Superfortress personnel replacement training ended in October.
• In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
• While in Alaska, the 97th Bombardment Wing had been activated under the Hobson Plan, and the 97th Bomb Group became a subordinate organization under the wing.
• With the activation of TAC, the new command assigned Headquarters, Ninth Air Force to Biggs on 28 March upon its return from Germany.
• The closest airport to Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is El Paso International Airport (ELP), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) S of BIF.
• The furthest airport from Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,387 miles (18,325 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• What is now Biggs Army Airfield started life in 1915 as an encampment at Fort Bliss, Texas for the 82d Field Artillery.
• With the inactivation of the 362d, its personnel and aircraft were assigned to the newly reactivated 20th Fighter Group.

Facts about Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA):

• Catania–Fontanarossa Airport handled 6,400,127 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA) is Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) WSW of CTA.
• In addition to being known as "Catania–Fontanarossa Airport", other names for CTA include "Catania Vincenzo Bellini Airport" and "Aeroporto di Catania-Fontanarossa".
• The furthest airport from Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,692 miles (18,816 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Catania–Fontanarossa Airport's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Catania–Fontanarossa 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.
• After 20 years of unexpected growth and high passengers levels, in 1981 it was once again necessary to restructure the airport to cope with demand.