Nonstop flight route between Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Helsinki / Vantaa, Finland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Helsinki Airport (HEL), Helsinki / Vantaa, Finland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,500 miles (or 8,851 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 Helsinki 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 Helsinki 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):

• Enough construction was completed by the late summer of 1942, to allow the 303d Bombardment Group to began training with B-17Fs under Second Air Force on 7 August.
• Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
• A period of organization and continued construction followed, with II Bomber Command taking over training.
• 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 97th operated B-29s from Biggs, and participated in numerous exercises, operational readiness inspections, and overseas deployments.
• With the arrival of the 95th Bomb Wing in June 1952, the host unit at Biggs was changed to the SAC 810th Air Division, which operationally controlled both the 97th and 95th Bombardment Wings.
• In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
• 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.
• In April 1943, the airfield came under the command of the Second Air Force and became headquarters for the XX Bomber Command.
• What is now Biggs Army Airfield started life in 1915 as an encampment at Fort Bliss, Texas for the 82d Field Artillery.

Facts about Helsinki Airport (HEL):

• The closest airport to Helsinki Airport (HEL) is Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SSE of HEL.
• Helsinki Airport (HEL) has 3 runways.
• The airport is operated by Finavia, the state-owned enterprise that operates Finland's airports.
• In addition to being known as "Helsinki Airport", another name for HEL is "Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasemaHelsingfors-Vanda flygplats".
• Finnair's head office is located in Tietotie 11 on the grounds of Helsinki Airport.
• The furthest airport from Helsinki Airport (HEL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,992 miles (17,689 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Helsinki Airport handled 15,279,043 passengers last year.
• Because of Helsinki Airport's relatively low elevation of 179 feet, planes can take off or land at Helsinki 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.
• The construction of the Ring Rail Line rail link to the airport was started in May 2009, with an opening for traffic projected for mid-2015.