Nonstop flight route between Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Natori, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Sendai Airport (SDJ), Natori, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,949 miles (or 9,574 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 Sendai 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 Sendai 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.
• Along with the B-50-equipped 97th Bomb Wing, Strategic Air Command established the 95th Bombardment Wing at Biggs in June 1952 and planned to base its heavy B-36 Peacemaker heavy bomber at the base.
• 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.
• The 97th Air Refueling Squadron, activated in March 1949, saw its manning increase as it received its first KB-29P in January 1950.
• 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.
• 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 inactivation of the 362d, its personnel and aircraft were assigned to the newly reactivated 20th Fighter Group.
• With World War II imminent, a massive construction effort was begun at Biggs Army Airfield between 1942–1945.
• Between the two World Wars, Biggs served as a refueling stop for transient aircraft.
• After World War II, B-29 Superfortress personnel replacement training ended in October.
• In April 1943, the airfield came under the command of the Second Air Force and became headquarters for the XX Bomber Command.

Facts about Sendai Airport (SDJ):

• On 11 March 2011, the airport was first damaged by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and then badly flooded by the subsequent tsunami.
• Because of Sendai Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Sendai 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 Sendai Airport Line rail link was completed on 18 March 2007 and began service between Sendai Station and Sendai Airport Station.
• In addition to being known as "Sendai Airport", other names for SDJ include "仙台空港" and "Sendai Kūkō".
• Because of the damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami, all scheduled service were suspended from 11 March 2011 until 13 April 2011.
• The furthest airport from Sendai Airport (SDJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,588 miles (18,650 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Sendai Airport (SDJ) has 2 runways.
• The control tower, Tokyo Regional Civil Aviation Bureau office and Air Cargo Terminal are located on the west side of the main terminal building.
• The closest airport to Sendai Airport (SDJ) is Yamagata Airport (GAJ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) WNW of SDJ.
• To reopen the airport, on 16 March 2011 a team from the United States Air Force's 320th Special Tactics Squadron from Kadena Air Base parachuted into Matsushima, Miyagi, then moved overland to the airport.