Nonstop flight route between Kailua / Kona, Hawaii, United States and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA), Kailua / Kona, Hawaii, United States and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,458 miles (or 5,565 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 Kona International Airport at Keāhole 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 Kona International Airport at Keāhole 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 Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA):

• Because of Kona International Airport at Keāhole's relatively low elevation of 47 feet, planes can take off or land at Kona International Airport at Keāhole 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.
• An environmental impact statement was prepared in 2005 to add a second runway.
• The furthest airport from Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA) is Maun Airport (MUB), which is nearly antipodal to Kona International Airport at Keāhole (meaning Kona International Airport at Keāhole is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maun Airport), and is located 12,399 miles (19,954 kilometers) away in Maun, Botswana.
• The full extent of the airport's impact and shift in tourism can be seen in Hawaii Island Strategic Plan for 2006 to 2015.
• It was originally known as Ke-āhole Airport, since the ʻāhole fish was found nearby.
• Kona International Airport at Keāhole handled 2,649,493 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Kona International Airport at Keāhole", another name for KOA is "Kona International Airport".
• The closest airport to Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA) is Pōhakuloa Training Area (BSF), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) ENE of KOA.
• Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Kona Airport's master plan, completed in 2010, calls for a second runway while keeping the option to extend the airport's primary runway to 12,000 feet if required.

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

• The facility was brought back into service as a primary training installation because of the Korean War and the need for additional pilots.
• At that time, nearly 6,000 students had graduated and the field's training aircraft had flown approximately 400,000 hours and more than 60 million miles.
• 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.
• 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 airfield was activated as Big Spring Air Force Base on 1 October 1951 by the United States Air Force Air Training Command and established the 3560th Pilot Training Wing.
• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.
• In its continuing effort to cut costs, ATC made some major changes in the undergraduate pilot training program.
• 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.