Nonstop flight route between Catania, Italy and Bensbach, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY), Catania, Italy and Bensbach Airport (BSP), Bensbach, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,565 miles (or 13,783 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 Bensbach 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 Bensbach 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):

• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Sigonella", other names for NSY include "Base aerea di Sigonella" and "NAS Sigonella".
• The airport resides at an elevation of 79 feet above mean sea level.
• 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.
• The United States Naval Air Facility, Sigonella, was established 15 June 1959.
• 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.
• Sigonella's first flood occurred mid-September 1959.
• 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.
• Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• By the end of August 1959, the NAF II airfield was available for daylight flights under visual flight rules.
• In the 1980s, Naval Air Facility Sigonella was redesignated as a Naval Air Station.

Facts about Bensbach Airport (BSP):

• The furthest airport from Bensbach Airport (BSP) is Parnaíba–Prefeito Dr. João Silva Filho International Airport (PHB), which is located 11,599 miles (18,667 kilometers) away in Parnaiba, Piaui, Brazil.
• Bensbach Airport (BSP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Bensbach Airport (BSP) is Mopah Airport (MKQ), which is located 62 miles (99 kilometers) WNW of BSP.
• Because of Bensbach Airport's relatively low elevation of 30 feet, planes can take off or land at Bensbach 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.