Nonstop flight route between Hamilton Island, Queensland, Australia and Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), Hamilton Island, Queensland, Australia and Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,784 miles (or 12,527 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 Great Barrier Reef 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 Great Barrier Reef 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 Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI):

• *Sydney route included from July 2009
• Great Barrier Reef Airport or Hamilton Island Airport is the primary airport of the Whitsunday Islands Group, and airport of Hamilton Island.
• The furthest airport from Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,990 miles (19,297 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI) currently has only 1 runway.
• Great Barrier Reef Airport handled 457,641 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Great Barrier Reef Airport", another name for HTI is "Hamilton Island".
• The closest airport to Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI) is Whitsunday Airport (WSY), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of HTI.
• Because of Great Barrier Reef Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Great Barrier Reef 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.

Facts about Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):

• With the activation of TAC, the new command assigned Headquarters, Ninth Air Force to Biggs on 28 March upon its return from Germany.
• In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
• A period of organization and continued construction followed, with II Bomber Command taking over training.
• 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.
• Beginning in 1950, the 97th Bomb Wing received its first B-50 Superfortress, an improved version of the B-29 capable of delivering atomic weapons.
• Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.