Nonstop flight route between Nantes, France and Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE), Nantes, France and Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF), Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,380 miles (or 5,440 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 Nantes Atlantique Airport and Westover Air Reserve Base, 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 Nantes Atlantique Airport and Westover Air Reserve Base. 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 Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE):

• Nantes airport owes its origins to a military airfield, conceived in 1928 on part of the current site.
• Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE) currently has only 1 runway.
• After the war the airfield was again put into service by the French Air Force.
• Nantes Atlantique Airport handled 393,084 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Nantes Atlantique Airport (meaning Nantes Atlantique Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,097 miles (19,468 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Taxis are available from a taxi rank outside the terminal building.
• The airport also has a separate freight terminal, situated to the south of the passenger terminal, which includes 6,000 m2 of entrepôt storage.
• Because of Nantes Atlantique Airport's relatively low elevation of 90 feet, planes can take off or land at Nantes Atlantique 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.
• In addition to being known as "Nantes Atlantique Airport", another name for NTE is "Aéroport Nantes Atlantique".
• The closest airport to Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE) is Cholet Le Pontreau Airport (CET), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) E of NTE.
• The airport is operated by the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Nantes.

Facts about Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF):

• Detonation in August 1949 by the Soviet Union of an atomic bomb spawned a new strategy in the military, calling for massive retaliation in the event of an attack.
• The original airfield at Westover consisted of three runways in the standard "A" pattern to accommodate landings in all directions based on wind direction.
• The closest airport to Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (BAF), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) WSW of CEF.
• Westover Field was placed under the jurisdiction of the Northeast Air District, later First Air Force, with the 25th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron the main Base Operating Unit.
• The furthest airport from Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,731 miles (18,880 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Westover Air Reserve Base", another name for CEF is "Westover ARB".
• With the end of World War II, Westover Field was designated as a permanent United States Army Air Force installation in 1945 and was not inactivated as most of the wartime temporary training airfields were in the fall of 1945.
• With the establishment of the United States Air Force in September 1947, the name of Westover Field was changed to Westover Air Force Base on 13 January 1948.
• On 1 June 1948 Air Transport Command was reorganized into the Military Air Transport Service, and Westover was designated as Headquarters, Atlantic Division, Military Air Transport Service.
• During World War II Westover saw the training and formation of Airborne engineer aviation battalions to be used for rapidly establishing airfields in forward areas.