Nonstop flight route between Catania, Italy and Aachen, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY), Catania, Italy and Merzbrück Airfield (AAH), Aachen, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,022 miles (or 1,645 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 Naval Air Station Sigonella and Merzbrück Airfield, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY):

• Naval Air Station Sigonella, "The Hub of the Med", is a U.S.
• Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY) has 2 runways.
• NAS Sigonella is the Navy's second largest security command, second only to that located at Naval Support Activity Bahrain.
• The closest airport to Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY) is Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) ENE of NSY.
• The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,695 miles (18,821 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• On the night of 10 October 1985, there were tense hours on NAS II when the Italian Carabinieri, Italian Air Force, and the US Army's Delta Force came close to firing upon one another following the interception by Navy F-14 Tomcat fighters of an Egyptian Boeing 737 airliner carrying the hijackers of the Italian cruise ship, the Achille Lauro, which had been commandeered by members of the PLO on 7 October.
• Sigonella's first flood occurred mid-September 1959.
• When NATO took military intervention to Libya in 2011, NAS Sigonella played an important role in US Operation Odyssey Dawn because of its short distance to the country.
• Because of Naval Air Station Sigonella's relatively low elevation of 79 feet, planes can take off or land at Naval Air Station Sigonella 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.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Sigonella", other names for NSY include "Base aerea di Sigonella" and "NAS Sigonella".
• NAS Sigonella has the best claim to be hub of U.S.

Facts about Merzbrück Airfield (AAH):

• There is no scheduled traffic at the airfield.
• The furthest airport from Merzbrück Airfield (AAH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,937 miles (19,210 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airport was built about 1932 as a grass airfield, and throughout the 1930s was used by small light aircraft.
• Because of Merzbrück Airfield's relatively low elevation of 623 feet, planes can take off or land at Merzbrück Airfield 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.
• In January 1945, as a result of the Western Allied invasion of Germany, United States Army forces moved though the Aachen area and captured Merzbrück Airport about 29 January.
• The closest airport to Merzbrück Airfield (AAH) is NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NNW of AAH.
• Merzbrück Airfield (AAH) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Merzbrück Airfield", another name for AAH is "Flugplatz Merzbrück".