Nonstop flight route between Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Whakatane, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Whakatane Airport (WHK), Whakatane, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,896 miles (or 11,097 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 Whakatane 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 Whakatane 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 August 1953, the first B-36D arrived at Biggs, although the majority of aircraft received were the later-model B-36J-III models with a higher operational ceiling, strengthened landing gear, increased fuel capacity, armament reduced to tail guns only and reduced crew.
• 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.
• Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• With the activation of TAC, the new command assigned Headquarters, Ninth Air Force to Biggs on 28 March upon its return from Germany.
• The 97th Air Refueling Squadron, activated in March 1949, saw its manning increase as it received its first KB-29P in January 1950.
• Between the two World Wars, Biggs served as a refueling stop for transient aircraft.

Facts about Whakatane Airport (WHK):

• Whakatane Airport (WHK) has 2 runways.
• Because of Whakatane Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Whakatane 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 furthest airport from Whakatane Airport (WHK) is Granada Airport (GRX), which is nearly antipodal to Whakatane Airport (meaning Whakatane Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Granada Airport), and is located 12,374 miles (19,913 kilometers) away in Granada, Spain.
• The closest airport to Whakatane Airport (WHK) is Rotorua International Airport (ROT), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) WSW of WHK.