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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Marseille Provence Airport (MRS), Marseille, France and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,463 miles (or 8,792 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 Marseille Provence 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 Marseille Provence 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 Marseille Provence Airport (MRS):

• In addition to being known as "Marseille Provence Airport", another name for MRS is "Aéroport de Marseille ProvenceAdvanced Landing Ground (ALG) Y-14".
• Because of Marseille Provence Airport's relatively low elevation of 70 feet, planes can take off or land at Marseille Provence 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.
• Marseille Provence Airport handled 8,295,479 passengers last year.
• In the 1920s and 1930s, Marignane was one of France's main points of operation for flying boats.
• The furthest airport from Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Marseille Provence Airport (meaning Marseille Provence Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,349 miles (19,874 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) has 2 runways.
• Formerly known as Marseille–Marignane Airport, it has been managed since 1934 by the Marseille-Provence Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
• The closest airport to Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) is Aix-en-Provence Aerodrome (QXB), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) ENE of MRS.

Facts about Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (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.
• 78th Flying 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Instruction of the first class began in April 1952.