Nonstop flight route between Sion, Switzerland and Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sion Airport (SIR), Sion, Switzerland and NAS Key West (NQX), Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,966 miles (or 7,992 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 Sion Airport and NAS Key West, 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 Sion Airport and NAS Key West. 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 Sion Airport (SIR):

• The closest airport to Sion Airport (SIR) is Aosta Valley Airport (AOT), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) S of SIR.
• Sion Airport (SIR) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Sion Airport (SIR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Sion Airport (meaning Sion Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,188 miles (19,615 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Sion Airport", other names for SIR include "Aéroport de Sion" and "LSGS /LSMS".

Facts about NAS Key West (NQX):

• After World War II ended, NAS Key West was retained as a training facility.
• NAS Key West was to become a focal point during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which posed the first doorstep threat to America in more than a century.
• During the 1980s and into the mid-1990s, NAS Key West's Trumbo Point Annex and Truman Annex waterfront pier areas served as the home port for the Pegasus-class hydrofoils of Patrol Hydrofoil Missile Squadron ONE.
• The closest airport to NAS Key West (NQX) is Key West International Airport (EYW), which is located only 5 miles (7 kilometers) WSW of NQX.
• NAS Key West (NQX) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from NAS Key West (NQX) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,575 miles (18,629 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The nation's southernmost Naval Base proved to be an ideal year-round training facility with rapid access to the open sea lanes and ideal flying conditions for Naval Aviation.
• By 1964, the USAF added an AN/FPS-6A height-finder radar at NAS Key West, which was modified to an AN/FPS-90 set when a second radar was added.
• The air station is also host to several tenant commands, including Fighter Squadron Composite 111, Strike Fighter Squadron 106 Detachment Key West, the U.S.
• Because of NAS Key West's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS Key West 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 "NAS Key West", other names for NQX include "Naval Air Station Key West" and "NQX[1]".