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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE), Nice, France and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,536 miles (or 8,909 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 Nice Côte d'Azur 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 Nice Côte d'Azur 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 Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE):

• In 2013, There were 11,554,195 passengers.
• In addition to being known as "Nice Côte d'Azur Airport", another name for NCE is "Aéroport Nice Côte d'Azur".
• Nice Côte d'Azur Airport handled 11,222,042 passengers last year.
• The airport covers an area of over 3.70 km2, with 2.70 km2 used by its two parallel runways and the two passenger terminals and freight terminal.
• The furthest airport from Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (meaning Nice Côte d'Azur Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,253 miles (19,720 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE) is Monaco Heliport (MCM), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) ENE of NCE.
• Because of Nice Côte d'Azur Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Nice Côte d'Azur 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 Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS):

• In August 1972, ATC established a pilot instructor training course for Vietnamese Air Force instructors at Webb AFB, Texas.
• Webb Air Force Base, previously named Big Spring Air Force Base, was a United States Air Force facility of the Air Training Command that operated from 1951 to 1977 in west Texas within the current city limits of Big Spring.
• The airfield and flight line was converted to an uncontrolled/UNICOM-only general aviation airport renamed Big Spring McMahon-Wrinkle Airport, serving the City of Big Spring.
• 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.
• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.
• The facility first was used by the United States Army Air Forces as Big Spring Army Air Field, opening on 28 April 1942 as part of the Central Flying Training Command.
• The facility was brought back into service as a primary training installation because of the Korean War and the need for additional pilots.
• 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.