Nonstop flight route between Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Kiryat Shmona (Qiryat Shemona), Israel:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Kiryat Shmona Airport (KSW), Kiryat Shmona (Qiryat Shemona), Israel would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,304 miles (or 11,754 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 Kiryat Shmona 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 Kiryat Shmona 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):

• A period of organization and continued construction followed, with II Bomber Command taking over training.
• With the activation of TAC, the new command assigned Headquarters, Ninth Air Force to Biggs on 28 March upon its return from Germany.
• 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.
• 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".
• Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The 97th operated B-29s from Biggs, and participated in numerous exercises, operational readiness inspections, and overseas deployments.
• With the inactivation of the 362d, its personnel and aircraft were assigned to the newly reactivated 20th Fighter Group.
• Biggs Field is now the home of the United States Army 1st Armored Division.
• 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.
• Beginning in 1950, the 97th Bomb Wing received its first B-50 Superfortress, an improved version of the B-29 capable of delivering atomic weapons.

Facts about Kiryat Shmona Airport (KSW):

• Runway 21 with Naftali hills in the background
• Tamir Airways announced that it would stop flying to Upper Galilee shortly before the Second Lebanon War broke out, but they changed their mind because they saw it as a "mission of national importance".
• The next closest airport is Ben Ya'akov near Rosh Pina, 30 km south.
• The closest airport to Kiryat Shmona Airport (KSW) is Beirut Air Base (BEY), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) N of KSW.
• The furthest airport from Kiryat Shmona Airport (KSW) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,579 miles (18,635 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• Kiryat Shmona Airport (KSW) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Kiryat Shmona Airport's relatively low elevation of 376 feet, planes can take off or land at Kiryat Shmona 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.
• Arkia handled domestic flights until end of 2003, when it closed down due to a lack of passenger traffic.