Nonstop flight route between Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR), Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,398 miles (or 7,078 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 Svalbard Airport, Longyear 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 Svalbard Airport, Longyear 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 Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR):

• Svalbard Airport, Longyear handled 126,350 passengers last year.
• The Svalbard Treaty specifies that no military installations are permitted on the archipelago.
• The furthest airport from Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,170 miles (16,367 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• On 14 August 1987, Braathens SAFE re-entered the market, flying in parallel with SAS to Tromsø and Oslo.
• The closest airport to Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR) is Honningsvåg Airport, Valan (HVG), which is located 534 miles (859 kilometers) SSE of LYR.
• Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Svalbard Airport, Longyear", another name for LYR is "Svalbard lufthavn, Longyear".
• Because of Svalbard Airport, Longyear's relatively low elevation of 94 feet, planes can take off or land at Svalbard Airport, Longyear 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.
• Both Braathens SAFE and SAS applied for the concession to fly from the mainland to Norway.

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

• 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 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.
• Webb AFB was turned over to the General Services Agency for disposal on 1 January 1978 and the property later turned over to the Big Spring Industrial Park.
• 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 AT-11 which was activated to replace the separate air and ground units.
• The Air Force established a standard wing structure—a dual deputy concept—in 1963.