Nonstop flight route between Gaborone, Botswana and Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GBE to BIF:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- GBE Airport Information
- BIF Airport Information
- Facts about GBE
- Facts about BIF
- Map of Nearest Airports to GBE
- List of Nearest Airports to GBE
- Map of Furthest Airports from GBE
- List of Furthest Airports from GBE
- Map of Nearest Airports to BIF
- List of Nearest Airports to BIF
- Map of Furthest Airports from BIF
- List of Furthest Airports from BIF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE), Gaborone, Botswana and Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,512 miles (or 15,308 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 Sir Seretse Khama 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 Sir Seretse Khama 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:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | GBE / FBSK |
| Airport Name: | Sir Seretse Khama International Airport |
| Location: | Gaborone, Botswana |
| GPS Coordinates: | 24°33'19"S by 25°55'5"E |
| Area Served: | Gaborone |
| Operator/Owner: | Civil Government |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 3299 feet (1,006 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from GBE |
| More Information: | GBE Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | BIF / KBIF |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 31°50'57"N by 106°22'47"W |
| Operator/Owner: | U.S. Army ATCA-ASO |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 3946 feet (1,203 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from BIF |
| More Information: | BIF Maps & Info |
Facts about Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE):
- The furthest airport from Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is nearly antipodal to Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (meaning Sir Seretse Khama International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hana Airport), and is located 12,149 miles (19,552 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
- The government of Botswana has started a $61 million expansion plan to further develop the airport to accommodate increased traffic and larger planes.
- Airport before expansion
- Botswana Defence Force Air Wing VIP Flight Wing is based at the airport.
- The closest airport to Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) is Lobatse Airport (LOQ), which is located 46 miles (74 kilometers) SSW of GBE.
- Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):
- Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
- What is now Biggs Army Airfield started life in 1915 as an encampment at Fort Bliss, Texas for the 82d Field Artillery.
- 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.
- 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.
- Along with the B-50-equipped 97th Bomb Wing, Strategic Air Command established the 95th Bombardment Wing at Biggs in June 1952 and planned to base its heavy B-36 Peacemaker heavy bomber at the base.
- In April 1943, the 330th Bombardment Group was established at Biggs to begin replacement training of personnel, rather than the training of entire groups.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
- The 97th operated B-29s from Biggs, and participated in numerous exercises, operational readiness inspections, and overseas deployments.
