Nonstop flight route between Catania, Italy and Columbus, New Mexico, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY), Catania, Italy and Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS), Columbus, New Mexico, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,388 miles (or 10,281 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 Columbus 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 Columbus 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):

• Among the aircraft that fly from this island base are U.S.
• Sigonella suffered its second major flood mid December 2005.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 there was no room for expansion at Malta, the U.S.
• It also serves as an Italian base for the 41º Stormo Antisom.
• Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY) has 2 runways.
• 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.

Facts about Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS):

• In addition to being known as "Columbus Municipal Airport", other names for CUS include "Historical Airport", "Modern Airfield" and "0NM0".
• The closest airport to Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS) is Deming Municipal AirportDeming Army Airfield (DMN), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) N of CUS.
• Pershing crossed the border with 6,600 men a week after the Columbus raid.
• The furthest airport from Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,433 miles (18,400 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Twelve R-2s were delivered to the squadron in May, but the planes, which had been very hastily constructed, were missing vital spare parts and had faulty wiring and leaky fuel tanks.
• Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS) currently has only 1 runway.
• During the Mexican Revolution, hundreds of Pancho Villa's horsemen crossed the United States border and raided Columbus, New Mexico on 9 March 1916.
• Because of Columbus Municipal Airport's high elevation of 4,024 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at CUS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make CUS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The next use of the airfield was when the Department of Commerce refitted the facility as one of its network of Intermediate Landing Fields, which were established in the 1920s & 1930s to serve as emergency landing fields along commercial airways between major cities.