Nonstop flight route between Houston, Texas, United States and Catania, Sicily, Italy:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), Houston, Texas, United States and Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA), Catania, Sicily, Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,976 miles (or 9,618 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 William P. Hobby Airport and Catania–Fontanarossa Airport, 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 William P. Hobby Airport and Catania–Fontanarossa Airport. 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 William P. Hobby Airport (HOU):

• The April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows 26 weekday departures on Eastern, 20 Braniff, nine Continental, nine Delta, nine Trans-Texas, four National, two Pan American and one American.
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport opened in 1969 because of expansion limitations at Hobby, and all airlines at Hobby moved there.
• The closest airport to William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) is Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) ESE of HOU.
• Because of William P. Hobby Airport's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at William P. Hobby 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 furthest airport from William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,002 miles (17,706 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) has 4 runways.
• In addition to being known as "William P. Hobby Airport", another name for HOU is "Houston Hobby".
• William P. Hobby Airport handled 9,054,001 passengers last year.
• Hobby Airport handles domestic service for six commercial airlines and is an international point of entry for general aviation activity between Texas and Mexico.

Facts about Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA):

• Catania–Fontanarossa Airport handled 6,400,127 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,692 miles (18,816 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Catania–Fontanarossa Airport also named as Vincenzo Bellini Airport, is an international airport located 2.3 NM southwest of Catania, the second largest city on the Italian island of Sicily.
• Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Catania–Fontanarossa Airport", other names for CTA include "Catania Vincenzo Bellini Airport" and "Aeroporto di Catania-Fontanarossa".
• The closest airport to Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA) is Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) WSW of CTA.
• The airport is conveniently located close to the A19 motorway, which links Catania with Palermo and central Sicily, while the European route E45 runs to Syracuse in the south.
• Because of Catania–Fontanarossa Airport's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Catania–Fontanarossa 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.
• Ryanair started to fly to Catania in 2013 but announced only one route to Catania while also starting operations with 3 routes to Comiso Airport, a newly opened in 2013 Airport only a few km to the south of Catania.