Nonstop flight route between Cape Town, South Africa and Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cape Town International Airport (CPT), Cape Town, South Africa and Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,281 miles (or 14,936 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 Cape Town International Airport and Biggs 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 Cape Town International Airport and Biggs 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 Cape Town International Airport (CPT):

• The closest airport to Cape Town International Airport (CPT) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 217 miles (349 kilometers) E of CPT.
• Cape Town International Airport handled 8,505,563 passengers last year.
• Cape Town International Airport (CPT) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Cape Town International Airport (CPT) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is located 11,616 miles (18,693 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
• Arriving passengers collect luggage in the old sections of their respective terminals, before proceeding through new passageways to the new Central Terminal Building.
• Because of Cape Town International Airport's relatively low elevation of 151 feet, planes can take off or land at Cape Town International 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 only hotel located within the airport precinct is the budget Road Lodge, owned by the City Lodge hotel chain group.
• With the fall of apartheid in the early 1990s, ownership of the airport was transferred from the state to the newly formed Airports Company South Africa, and the airport was renamed to the politically neutral Cape Town International Airport.
• The following is an example of information required by aircrew to operate at this airport.

Facts about Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):

• 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.
• On 27 September 1947, Biggs Army Airfield became Biggs Air Force Base with the establishment of the United States Air Force, replacing the Army Air Forces.
• In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
• 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 World War II imminent, a massive construction effort was begun at Biggs Army Airfield between 1942–1945.
• Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
• With the arrival of the 95th Bomb Wing in June 1952, the host unit at Biggs was changed to the SAC 810th Air Division, which operationally controlled both the 97th and 95th Bombardment Wings.
• Prior to the takeover of Biggs by SAC in October 1948, it had previously moved the B-29 Superfortress-equipped 97th Bombardment Group to the base in May.