Nonstop flight route between Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Alicante, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC), Alicante, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,191 miles (or 8,355 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 Sheppard Air Force Base and Alicante-Elche 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 Sheppard Air Force Base and Alicante-Elche 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 Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):

• Sheppard AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.
• Sheppard AFB began providing top-notch instruction in a diverse array of Air Force specialties during World War II.
• The furthest airport from Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,952 miles (17,626 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The Department of Defense proposed a major realignment of the base, as part of the Base Realignment and Closure program announced on 13 May 2005.
• Helicopter pilot training was transferred from Stead AFB, Nevada in October 1965, with H-19, H-43, Bell TH-1F, CH-3C and HH-3E helicopters used for training.
• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
• The 80th FTW mission is to provide combat airpower by producing top quality fighter pilots for the NATO alliance.
• Sheppard Field reached its peak strength of 46,340 people while serving as a separation center for troops being discharged following World War II from September through November 1945.
• Over the next three decades three training schools were stationed at the base training students in aircraft maintenance, transportation, communication, civil engineering, Aircrew Life Support and field training.
• The aircraft mechanics school was transferred to Sheppard from Keesler AFB, Mississippi in April 1949 to make room for expansion of electronic training at that base.
• The closest airport to Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS) is Kickapoo Downtown Airport (KIP), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) S of SPS.

Facts about Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC):

• In addition to being known as "Alicante-Elche Airport", other names for ALC include "Aeropuerto de Alicante-Elche" and "Aeroport d'Alacant-Elx".
• In 2011, Alicante Airport handled 9,913,764 passengers, 75,572 flight operations and 3,011 tonnes of cargo, making it the busiest airport in the Valencian Community by passenger numbers, and one of the 50 busiest in Europe.
• Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2011, the new terminal was opened at the airport increasing the annual airport capacity to 20 million passengers per year.
• 1D means Dock, P stands for Processor.
• Because of Alicante-Elche Airport's relatively low elevation of 141 feet, planes can take off or land at Alicante-Elche 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.
• Alicante airport is accessible by buses, taxis, and private cars on automobile road N-338.
• The furthest airport from Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC) is Gisborne Airport (GIS), which is nearly antipodal to Alicante-Elche Airport (meaning Alicante-Elche Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Gisborne Airport), and is located 12,353 miles (19,881 kilometers) away in Gisborne, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC) is Murcia–San Javier Airport (MJV), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) SSW of ALC.
• Historically, up until 2003, Iberia was the leading airline at the airport.