Nonstop flight route between Meribel, France and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Méribel Airport (MFX), Meribel, France and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,441 miles (or 8,756 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 Méribel Airport 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 Méribel Airport 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 Méribel Airport (MFX):

• Méribel Airport (MFX) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Méribel Airport", another name for MFX is "Aéroport de Méribel".
• The furthest airport from Méribel Airport (MFX) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Méribel Airport (meaning Méribel Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,251 miles (19,716 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Méribel Airport's high elevation of 5,633 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MFX. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MFX a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Méribel Airport (MFX) is Courchevel Airport (CVF), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) ESE of MFX.

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

• Perhaps the most dominant feature on the ATC landscape in 1974 was the serious fuel shortage the command had to contend with for much of the year.
• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.
• 78th Flying Training Wing
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.