Nonstop flight route between Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States and El Prat de Llobregat (near Barcelona), Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF), Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States and Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN), El Prat de Llobregat (near Barcelona), Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,716 miles (or 5,980 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 Westover Air Reserve Base and Barcelona–El Prat 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 Westover Air Reserve Base and Barcelona–El Prat 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 Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF):

• On 1 June 1948 Air Transport Command was reorganized into the Military Air Transport Service, and Westover was designated as Headquarters, Atlantic Division, Military Air Transport Service.
• Four-engine C-54 Skymaster and shorter-range C-47 Skytrain transports took supplies and reinforcements from Westover to the armed forces and returned with the wounded and discharged troops.
• Westover was also the launching point of the heroic Berlin Airlift for 327 days during the Soviet blockade.
• The closest airport to Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (BAF), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) WSW of CEF.
• The furthest airport from Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,731 miles (18,880 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Since the Constructing Quartermaster had already planned the base, the first permanent masonry buildings were constructed east of the airfield to those designs, which were intended to be lasting and attractive.
• Building at the base was constant throughout 1941.
• In addition to being known as "Westover Air Reserve Base", another name for CEF is "Westover ARB".
• In 1951 Air Defense Command established an air defense interceptor presence at Westover, its units being assigned to the base in a tenant status until the turnover of the base to the Air Force Reserve in 1974.

Facts about Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN):

• Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN) has 3 runways.
• Because of Barcelona–El Prat Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Barcelona–El Prat 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.
• Due to the strong drop in air traffic after 1999 and the crisis in the aviation sector in 2001 many charter operations from Girona and Reus were diverted to El Prat, which helped the airport to survive the crisis.
• The furthest airport from Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Barcelona–El Prat Airport (meaning Barcelona–El Prat Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,248 miles (19,711 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Barcelona–El Prat Airport", another name for BCN is "Aeroport de Barcelona–El Prat".
• In 2011 nearly 34.4 million passengers used Barcelona Airport, a 17.8% increase compared with 2010.
• There is provision for parking cars at the airport, with about 24,000 parking spaces.
• The closest airport to Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN) is Sabadell Airport (QSA), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) N of BCN.
• The airport is the subject of a political discussion over management and control between the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Spanish Government, which has involved AENA and various airlines, Iberia and Spanair mainly.