Nonstop flight route between Biloxi, Mississippi, United States and Catania, Sicily, Italy:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Keesler Air Force Base (BIX), Biloxi, Mississippi, United States and Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA), Catania, Sicily, Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,652 miles (or 9,097 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 Keesler Air Force Base and Catania–Fontanarossa 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 Keesler Air Force Base and Catania–Fontanarossa 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 Keesler Air Force Base (BIX):

• The closest airport to Keesler Air Force Base (BIX) is Gulfport–Biloxi International Airport (GPT), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) W of BIX.
• The Tuskegee Airmen were trained at Keesler.
• In early 1956, Keesler entered the missile age by opening a ground support training program for the Atlas missile.
• Keesler AFB was the primary training base for many avionics maintenance career fields including Electronic Warfare, Navigational Aids, Computer Repair and Ground Radio Repair.
• Finally, Keesler is also home to CNATTU Keesler, a training unit for Navy and Marine Corps enlisted personnel receiving training at Keesler, such as enlisted meteorology training, with their Air Force counterparts.
• The furthest airport from Keesler Air Force Base (BIX) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,125 miles (17,904 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Keesler Air Force Base", another name for BIX is "Keesler AFB".
• In late May 1947, the Radar School arrived on Keesler making it responsible for operating the two largest military technical schools in the United States.

Facts about Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA):

• Catania–Fontanarossa Airport handled 6,400,127 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,692 miles (18,816 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Catania–Fontanarossa Airport", other names for CTA include "Catania Vincenzo Bellini Airport" and "Aeroporto di Catania-Fontanarossa".
• Ryanair started to fly to Catania in 2013 but announced only one route to Catania while also starting operations with 3 routes to Comiso Airport, a newly opened in 2013 Airport only a few km to the south of Catania.
• Because of Catania–Fontanarossa Airport's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Catania–Fontanarossa 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 closest airport to Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA) is Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) WSW of CTA.
• After 20 years of unexpected growth and high passengers levels, in 1981 it was once again necessary to restructure the airport to cope with demand.
• Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA) currently has only 1 runway.