Nonstop flight route between Catania, Italy and Moses Lake, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY), Catania, Italy and Grant County International Airport (MWH), Moses Lake, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,944 miles (or 9,566 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 Grant County International 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 Grant County International 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):

• 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 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.
• 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.
• In the 1980s, Naval Air Facility Sigonella was redesignated as a Naval Air Station.
• 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.
• NAS Sigonella has the best claim to be hub of U.S.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Sigonella", other names for NSY include "Base aerea di Sigonella" and "NAS Sigonella".
• 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.
• When there was no room for expansion at Malta, the U.S.

Facts about Grant County International Airport (MWH):

• The closest airport to Grant County International Airport (MWH) is Ephrata Municipal Airport (EPH), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NW of MWH.
• Grant County International Airport (MWH) has 5 runways.
• The airport was used for heavy jet training by Japan Air Lines for over 40 years, until the closing of their training offices in March 2009.
• Grant County International Airport was an alternate landing site for the NASA Space Shuttle.
• The furthest airport from Grant County International Airport (MWH) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,730 miles (17,268 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Opened as a training airfield during World War II, the facility was operated by the U.S.
• The main campus for Big Bend Community College is also located on the grounds of the airport.