Nonstop flight route between Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States and Comayagua, Honduras:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from NQX to XPL:
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- About this route
- NQX Airport Information
- XPL Airport Information
- Facts about NQX
- Facts about XPL
- Map of Nearest Airports to NQX
- List of Nearest Airports to NQX
- Map of Furthest Airports from NQX
- List of Furthest Airports from NQX
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- List of Nearest Airports to XPL
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- List of Furthest Airports from XPL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between NAS Key West (NQX), Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States and Soto Cano Air Base (XPL), Comayagua, Honduras would travel a Great Circle distance of 803 miles (or 1,292 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 relatively short distance between NAS Key West and Soto Cano Air Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | NQX / KNQX |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 24°34'32"N by 81°41'20"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Navy |
Airport Type: | Military: Naval Air Station |
Elevation: | 6 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from NQX |
More Information: | NQX Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | XPL / MHSC |
Airport Name: | Soto Cano Air Base |
Location: | Comayagua, Honduras |
GPS Coordinates: | 14°22'57"N by 87°37'15"W |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 2060 feet (628 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from XPL |
More Information: | XPL Maps & Info |
Facts about NAS Key West (NQX):
- 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.
- On January 18, 1918, the first class of student aviators arrived for seaplane training, which launched the station's reputation as a premier training site for Naval Aviators, a reputation which continues today.
- After World War I, the base was decommissioned and its personnel were transferred or released.
- NAS Key West (NQX) has 3 runways.
- NAS Key West was to become a focal point during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which posed the first doorstep threat to America in more than a century.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "NAS Key West", other names for NQX include "Naval Air Station Key West" and "NQX[1]".
- 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.
- By 1943, German submarines were operating so near Key West that they were sinking allied ships within sight of land.
- In 1973, Reconnaissance Attack Wing 1 began relocation from the closing NAS Albany, Georgia with its RA-5C Vigilante, TA-3B Skywarrior and TA-4F/J Skyhawk II aircraft.
Facts about Soto Cano Air Base (XPL):
- The closest airport to Soto Cano Air Base (XPL) is Marcala Airport (MRJ), which is located 32 miles (51 kilometers) WSW of XPL.
- The furthest airport from Soto Cano Air Base (XPL) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Soto Cano Air Base (meaning Soto Cano Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,101 miles (19,475 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
- Health care services are performed by the Medical Element.
- The Constitution of Honduras does not permit a permanent foreign presence in Honduras.
- The US government once used Palmerola as a base of operations to support their foreign policy objectives in the 1980s.
- Soto Cano Air Base (XPL) currently has only 1 runway.
- In 1990 Honduran President Rafael Leonardo Callejas decreed that commercial cargo flights were authorized to operate from Soto Cano.
- The hooches and metal barracks have no running water.