Nonstop flight route between Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Simla, Himachal Pradesh, India:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BIF to SLV:
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- About this route
- BIF Airport Information
- SLV Airport Information
- Facts about BIF
- Facts about SLV
- Map of Nearest Airports to BIF
- List of Nearest Airports to BIF
- Map of Furthest Airports from BIF
- List of Furthest Airports from BIF
- Map of Nearest Airports to SLV
- List of Nearest Airports to SLV
- Map of Furthest Airports from SLV
- List of Furthest Airports from SLV
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Shimla Airport (SLV), Simla, Himachal Pradesh, India would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,083 miles (or 13,008 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 Shimla 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 Shimla Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | BIF / KBIF |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 31°50'57"N by 106°22'47"W |
| Operator/Owner: | U.S. Army ATCA-ASO |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 3946 feet (1,203 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from BIF |
| More Information: | BIF Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SLV / VISM |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Simla, Himachal Pradesh, India |
| GPS Coordinates: | 31°4'54"N by 77°4'5"E |
| Area Served: | Shimla |
| Operator/Owner: | Government of India |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 5072 feet (1,546 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SLV |
| More Information: | SLV Maps & Info |
Facts about Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):
- Prior to the takeover of Biggs by SAC in October 1948, it had previously moved the B-29 Superfortress-equipped 97th Bombardment Group to the base in May.
- What is now Biggs Army Airfield started life in 1915 as an encampment at Fort Bliss, Texas for the 82d Field Artillery.
- A period of organization and continued construction followed, with II Bomber Command taking over training.
- 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.
- Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
- 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.
- The 97th Air Refueling Squadron, activated in March 1949, saw its manning increase as it received its first KB-29P in January 1950.
- The 97th operated B-29s from Biggs, and participated in numerous exercises, operational readiness inspections, and overseas deployments.
- 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.
Facts about Shimla Airport (SLV):
- The furthest airport from Shimla Airport (SLV) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,961 miles (19,249 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
- In addition to being known as "Shimla Airport", another name for SLV is "शिमला हवाई अड्डा".
- The closest airport to Shimla Airport (SLV) is Chandigarh Airport (IXC), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) SSW of SLV.
- Shimla Airport (SLV) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Shimla Airport's high elevation of 5,072 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SLV. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SLV a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
