Nonstop flight route between Catania, Italy and Ames, Iowa, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY), Catania, Italy and Ames Municipal Airport (AMW), Ames, Iowa, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,346 miles (or 8,604 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 Naval Air Station Sigonella and Ames Municipal 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 Naval Air Station Sigonella and Ames Municipal 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 Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY):

• When there was no room for expansion at Malta, the U.S.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Sigonella", other names for NSY include "Base aerea di Sigonella" and "NAS Sigonella".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• By the end of August 1959, the NAF II airfield was available for daylight flights under visual flight rules.
• 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.

Facts about Ames Municipal Airport (AMW):

• From May 10, 2010 through June 11, 2010, there were between five and six arrivals/departures at Ames each day.
• According to NTSB records, the airport has had no fatal accidents since 1962.
• Ames Municipal Airport (AMW) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Ames Municipal Airport (AMW) is Boone Municipal Airport (BNW), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) WNW of AMW.
• Ames Municipal Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located two miles southeast of the central business district of Ames, a city in Story County, Iowa, United States.
• The furthest airport from Ames Municipal Airport (AMW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,785 miles (17,357 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.