Nonstop flight route between Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ngari Gunsa Airport (NGQ), Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,991 miles (or 12,860 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 Ngari Gunsa 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 Ngari Gunsa 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 Ngari Gunsa Airport (NGQ):

• In addition to being known as "Ngari Gunsa Airport", other names for NGQ include "阿里昆莎机场ལྷ་ས་གོང་དཀར་རྫོང་" and "Ālǐ Kūnshā Jīchǎng".
• Because of Ngari Gunsa Airport's high elevation of 14,022 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at NGQ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make NGQ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Ngari Gunsa Airport (NGQ) is Bhuntar Airport (KUU), which is located 171 miles (275 kilometers) W of NGQ.
• The furthest airport from Ngari Gunsa Airport (NGQ) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,774 miles (18,948 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.

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.
• 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.
• 3560th Pilot Training Wing
• The base was declared surplus and was turned over to the War Assets Administration after being closed.
• 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.
• 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.