Nonstop flight route between Nîmes-Arles-Camargue, France and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nîmes-Alès-Camargue-Cévennes Airport (FNI), Nîmes-Arles-Camargue, France and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,418 miles (or 8,719 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 Nîmes-Alès-Camargue-Cévennes 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 Nîmes-Alès-Camargue-Cévennes 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 Nîmes-Alès-Camargue-Cévennes Airport (FNI):

• The closest airport to Nîmes-Alès-Camargue-Cévennes Airport (FNI) is Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport (MPL), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) WSW of FNI.
• Nîmes-Alès-Camargue-Cévennes Airport (FNI) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Nîmes-Alès-Camargue-Cévennes Airport's relatively low elevation of 309 feet, planes can take off or land at Nîmes-Alès-Camargue-Cévennes 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.
• In addition to being known as "Nîmes-Alès-Camargue-Cévennes Airport", another name for FNI is "Aéroport de Nîmes-Alès-Camargue-Cévennes".
• Nîmes Airport or Nîmes-Alès-Camargue-Cévennes Airport is an airport located 9 km south-southeast of the city of Nîmes, in the village of Saint-Gilles near Garons.
• In April 2012, the European Commission announced that it had launched an in-depth investigation into the financial arrangements that Nîmes Airport had with public authorities and Ryanair.
• The furthest airport from Nîmes-Alès-Camargue-Cévennes Airport (FNI) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Nîmes-Alès-Camargue-Cévennes Airport (meaning Nîmes-Alès-Camargue-Cévennes Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,393 miles (19,945 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• It currently has some commercial services, operated by Irish carrier Ryanair, however it also serves as a naval air base.

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

• In 1956, the Air Defense Command 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was transferred to Webb from Stewart Air Force Base in New York to defend the southern United States border on air intercept missions as part of the Central Air Defense Force.
• Perhaps the most dominant feature on the ATC landscape in 1974 was the serious fuel shortage the command had to contend with for much of the year.
• By the mid-1970s, the end of the Vietnam War, the associated financial costs of that conflict and related cuts in USAF force structure and future defense budgets meant a marked decrease in the need for Air Force pilots.
• 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.
• 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.
• Instruction of the first class began in April 1952.
• 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
• The AT-11 which was activated to replace the separate air and ground units.
• The facility first was used by the United States Army Air Forces as Big Spring Army Air Field, opening on 28 April 1942 as part of the Central Flying Training Command.