Nonstop flight route between Florence, Italy and Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Florence Airport, Peretola (FLR), Florence, Italy and Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF), Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,038 miles (or 6,499 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 Florence Airport, Peretola and Westover Air Reserve Base, 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 Florence Airport, Peretola and Westover Air Reserve Base. 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 Florence Airport, Peretola (FLR):

• In the late 1940s Peretola welcomed its first passenger flights with the DC-3 Aerea Teseo.
• The closest airport to Florence Airport, Peretola (FLR) is Siena-Ampugnano Airport (SAY), which is located 38 miles (62 kilometers) S of FLR.
• In addition to being known as "Florence Airport, Peretola", another name for FLR is "Aeroporto di Firenze-Peretola".
• Because of Florence Airport, Peretola's relatively low elevation of 144 feet, planes can take off or land at Florence Airport, Peretola 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 furthest airport from Florence Airport, Peretola (FLR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Florence Airport, Peretola (meaning Florence Airport, Peretola is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,055 miles (19,401 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Florence Airport, Peretola (FLR) currently has only 1 runway.
• Peretola was a great field where airplanes landed and took off without any mandatory direction until the Ministry of Aeronautics decided to enlarge and upgrade the now aged flight field.
• In late 1999 projects for restructuring and enlargement began, involving the departures and arrivals terminals, the aircraft parking areas and other areas dedicated to the operational and commercial management of the airport.
• The airport is connected with the city by a bus service from the central railway station every half hour, operated by the local Florence city bus company ATAF.

Facts about Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF):

• The original airfield at Westover consisted of three runways in the standard "A" pattern to accommodate landings in all directions based on wind direction.
• Westover was also the launching point of the heroic Berlin Airlift for 327 days during the Soviet blockade.
• In addition to being known as "Westover Air Reserve Base", another name for CEF is "Westover ARB".
• The first organization at the base was the 10th Signal Platoon in June 1940.
• Detonation in August 1949 by the Soviet Union of an atomic bomb spawned a new strategy in the military, calling for massive retaliation in the event of an attack.
• 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.
• The mission of Westover was to organize and provide initial training to new combat units.
• Plans for Westover Field were made in 1939 as a result of the Nazi Germany invasion of Poland in 1939.
• 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.