Nonstop flight route between Sion, Switzerland and San Bernardino, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sion Airport (SIR), Sion, Switzerland and Norton Air Force Base (SBD), San Bernardino, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,903 miles (or 9,499 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 Norton Air Force 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 Sion Airport and Norton Air Force 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 Sion Airport (SIR):

• In addition to being known as "Sion Airport", other names for SIR include "Aéroport de Sion" and "LSGS /LSMS".
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Norton Air Force Base (SBD):

• The closest airport to Norton Air Force Base (SBD) is San Bernardino International Airport (SBT), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) S of SBD.
• In 1950, Air Defense Command activated the 27th Air Division at Norton AFB, being assigned to the Western Air Defense Force.
• In addition to being known as "Norton Air Force Base", another name for SBD is "Norton AFB".
• Norton Air Force Base began before World War II as Municipal Airport, San Bernardino under Army Air Corps jurisdiction.
• The aviation facilities of the base were converted into San Bernardino International Airport, and 3 of the 4 stationed squadrons – C-141 Starlifter, C-21, and C-12 Huron aircraft – were moved to nearby March Air Force Base, while the remaining squadron – C-141 aircraft – was moved to McChord Air Force Base, Washington.
• The furthest airport from Norton Air Force Base (SBD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,447 miles (18,423 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• A change of mission in 1966 from Air Force Logistics Command to Military Airlift Command meant that Norton became one of six Military Airlift Command strategic-airlift bases, supporting US Army and Marine Corps' airlift requirements among other functions.