Nonstop flight route between Comiso, Italy and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Comiso Airport (CIY), Comiso, Italy and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,127 miles (or 9,860 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 Comiso Airport and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield, 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 Comiso Airport and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield. 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 Comiso Airport (CIY):

• Comiso Airport (CIY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airfield and facilities at Magliocco fell into disuse during the postwar years.
• The installation began as an aerodrome that was constructed in southeastern Sicily, at the foot of the Hyblaean Mountains and near the city of Comiso.
• During the summer of 1983, three large anti-nuclear demonstrations, largely funded by the Communist Party, were conducted around the base perimeter, with as many as 5,000 protesters at the events in late July, August and September.
• In addition to being known as "Comiso Airport", another name for CIY is "Aeroporto di Comiso".
• In the late 1990s, Comiso was used for the Rainbow Mission, to house 5,000 Kosovars during the war in former Yugoslavia.
• The closest airport to Comiso Airport (CIY) is Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) NNE of CIY.
• The furthest airport from Comiso Airport (CIY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,689 miles (18,812 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Comiso Airport's relatively low elevation of 620 feet, planes can take off or land at Comiso 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.

Facts about Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS):

• In August 1972, ATC established a pilot instructor training course for Vietnamese Air Force instructors at Webb AFB, Texas.
• Webb Air Force Base, previously named Big Spring Air Force Base, was a United States Air Force facility of the Air Training Command that operated from 1951 to 1977 in west Texas within the current city limits of Big Spring.
• Webb AFB was turned over to the General Services Agency for disposal on 1 January 1978 and the property later turned over to the Big Spring Industrial Park.
• The furthest airport from Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,166 miles (17,969 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• At that time, nearly 6,000 students had graduated and the field's training aircraft had flown approximately 400,000 hours and more than 60 million miles.
• In its continuing effort to cut costs, ATC made some major changes in the undergraduate pilot training program.
• The base was declared surplus and was turned over to the War Assets Administration after being closed.
• The closest airport to Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS) is Midland Airpark (MDD), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) WSW of BGS.