Nonstop flight route between Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States and Bilbao, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NAS Key West (NQX), Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States and Bilbao Airport (BIO), Bilbao, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,528 miles (or 7,288 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 NAS Key West and Bilbao Airport, 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 NAS Key West and Bilbao Airport. 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 NAS Key West (NQX):

• On a broader scale, NAS Key West's national security mission supports operational and readiness requirements for the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Air National Guard and Army National Guard units, other federal agencies, and allied military forces.
• The furthest airport from NAS Key West (NQX) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,575 miles (18,629 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Naval Air Base Key West pilots flew in search of German submarines resting on the surface to recharge batteries.
• In addition to being known as "NAS Key West", other names for NQX include "Naval Air Station Key West" and "NQX[1]".
• In the 1970s, Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 33 relocated to NAS Key West from NAS Norfolk, Virginia with a mix of NC-121K, ERA-3B / TA-3B / KA-3B Skywarrior, EA-6A Intruder, EA-4F Skyhawk II, EP-3 Orion and the sole example of the EF-4B/EF-4J Phantom II aircraft.
• After World War I, the base was decommissioned and its personnel were transferred or released.
• NAS Key West (NQX) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to NAS Key West (NQX) is Key West International Airport (EYW), which is located only 5 miles (7 kilometers) WSW of NQX.
• Naval Base Key West was reopened just prior to the United States' entry into World War II to support Navy destroyers, submarines, patrol craft and PBY flying boat and amphibious aircraft.
• Because of NAS Key West's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS Key West 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 Bilbao Airport (BIO):

• Bilbao Airport (BIO) has 2 runways.
• Bilbao Airport handled 3,800,789 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Bilbao Airport", another name for BIO is "Bilboko aireportua (eu) Aeropuerto de Bilbao (es)".
• During the eighties, the ILS landing system entered into service for runway 10/28.
• The furthest airport from Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Hood Aerodrome (MRO), which is nearly antipodal to Bilbao Airport (meaning Bilbao Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hood Aerodrome), and is located 12,260 miles (19,730 kilometers) away in Masterton, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport (VIT), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) SSE of BIO.
• Because of Bilbao Airport's relatively low elevation of 137 feet, planes can take off or land at Bilbao 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.
• On 19 February 1985, an Iberia flight from Madrid crashed into Mount Oiz, all passengers and crew died.
• In 1940, it was decided by common agreement with the local organisations affected to build a civilian airport in Sondika.
• In February 2009 plans were announced to expand the terminal building, the facilities and the car parking so as to double the current capacity to 8 million passengers.