Nonstop flight route between Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States and Braga, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF), Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States and Braga Airport (BGZ), Braga, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,215 miles (or 5,174 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 Braga 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 Braga 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):

• Westover was also the launching point of the heroic Berlin Airlift for 327 days during the Soviet blockade.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Westover Air Reserve Base", another name for CEF is "Westover ARB".
• The original airfield at Westover consisted of three runways in the standard "A" pattern to accommodate landings in all directions based on wind direction.
• ADC established a more substantial presence in July 1957 when the 4729th Air Defense Group was activated.
• Numerous Airborne Engineer Aviation battalions were activated and trained at Westover, to include the 871st, 872d, 873d, 877th, 878th, 879th, 880th, and 881st.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Braga Airport (BGZ):

• Because of Braga Airport's relatively low elevation of 243 feet, planes can take off or land at Braga 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.
• Braga Airport (BGZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Braga Airport", another name for BGZ is "Aeródromo Municipal de Braga".
• The furthest airport from Braga Airport (BGZ) is Westport Airport (WSZ), which is nearly antipodal to Braga Airport (meaning Braga Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Westport Airport), and is located 12,426 miles (19,998 kilometers) away in Westport, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Braga Airport (BGZ) is Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SSW of BGZ.