Nonstop flight route between Catania, Italy and Wahiawa, Hawaii, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY), Catania, Italy and Wheeler AAF (HHI), Wahiawa, Hawaii, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,342 miles (or 13,426 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 Wheeler AAF, 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 Wheeler AAF. 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".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Ground was broken in September, and construction on the administrative area at NAF I was started in 1958.
• 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.
• Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY) has 2 runways.
• It also serves as an Italian base for the 41º Stormo Antisom.

Facts about Wheeler AAF (HHI):

• Wheeler AAF (HHI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Wheeler AAF (HHI) is Dillingham Airfield (HDH), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) WNW of HHI.
• Wheeler Army Airfield, also known as Wheeler Field and formerly as Wheeler Air Force Base, is a United States Army post located in the City & County of Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Island of O'ahu, Hawaii.
• The furthest airport from Wheeler AAF (HHI) is Ghanzi Airport (GNZ), which is nearly antipodal to Wheeler AAF (meaning Wheeler AAF is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ghanzi Airport), and is located 12,413 miles (19,976 kilometers) away in Ghanzi, Botswana.
• Wheeler Field was the site of several major historic aviation events prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, including the first transpacific flight from California in 1927.
• There are 739 households out of which 77.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 89.7% are married couples living together, 6.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 2.0% are non-families.
• A subordinate unit of the 15th Air Base Wing, the 15 ABS served as the host organization at Wheeler AFB, which consisted of approximately 1,389 acres of land and facilities valued at over $37 million.
• Today, Wheeler Army Airfield comprises approximately 1,389 acres of land returned to the Department of the Army on 1 November 1991.
• Wheeler Army Airfield was a primary target and site of the first attack on 7 December 1941, leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor.
• In June 1923, 13 months after the designation of the new flying field, shop hangars, airplane hangars, and oil storage tanks were erected.
• Because of Wheeler AAF's relatively low elevation of 843 feet, planes can take off or land at Wheeler AAF 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.