Nonstop flight route between Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Sandakan, Malaysia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Sandakan Airport (SDK), Sandakan, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,520 miles (or 13,711 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 Sandakan 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 Sandakan 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):

• In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
• Biggs Field is now the home of the United States Army 1st Armored Division.
• The 97th Air Refueling Squadron, activated in March 1949, saw its manning increase as it received its first KB-29P in January 1950.
• Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
• With World War II imminent, a massive construction effort was begun at Biggs Army Airfield between 1942–1945.
• With the inactivation of the 362d, its personnel and aircraft were assigned to the newly reactivated 20th Fighter Group.
• 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 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 experienced two mission changes in 1955.
• In 1958, the ability of the B-47 to penetrate Soviet airspace became compromised by improvements to the Soviet air defense system.
• Biggs Army Airfield, Biggs AAF, Biggs Field, or simply "Biggs" is a military airport located at Fort Bliss in El Paso, El Paso County, Texas, in the United States.

Facts about Sandakan Airport (SDK):

• Sandakan Airport handled 911,855 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Sandakan Airport", other names for SDK include "Lapangan Terbang Sandakan" and "山打根机场".
• The closest airport to Sandakan Airport (SDK) is Lahad Datu Airport (LDU), which is located 63 miles (101 kilometers) SSE of SDK.
• Sandakan Airport (SDK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Sandakan Airport (SDK) is Coari Airport (CIZ), which is nearly antipodal to Sandakan Airport (meaning Sandakan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Coari Airport), and is located 12,290 miles (19,779 kilometers) away in Coari, Amazonas, Brazil.
• Because of Sandakan Airport's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at Sandakan 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.