Nonstop flight route between Trapani, Italy and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS), Trapani, Italy and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,997 miles (or 9,651 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 Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield, 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 Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield. 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 Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS):

• The closest airport to Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS) is Falcone–Borsellino Airport (PMO), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) ENE of TPS.
• Because of Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi's relatively low elevation of 25 feet, planes can take off or land at Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi 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 "Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi", another name for TPS is "Aeroporto Vincenzo Florio di Trapani-Birgi".
• The furthest airport from Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,817 miles (19,018 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Inaugurated in the 1960s as a small regional airport operating very few flights, Trapani-Birgi became even less important in the 1990s, during which only a flight to Pantelleria was operated.
• The airport is located 8 NM south of Trapani, and opened in the early 1960s.
• Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport gained international attention during Operation Unified Protector in 2011 when NATO aircraft were based there during military intervention in the Libyan civil war.
• Data from Assaeroporti.
• Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi handled 1,878,557 passengers last year.

Facts about Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS):

• Perhaps the most dominant feature on the ATC landscape in 1974 was the serious fuel shortage the command had to contend with for much of the year.
• The base was declared surplus and was turned over to the War Assets Administration after being closed.
• The furthest airport from Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,166 miles (17,969 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• At Webb AFB, the last two pilot training classes completed course work on 30 August 1977, and fixed wing qualification training ended on 1 September 1977.
• At that time, nearly 6,000 students had graduated and the field's training aircraft had flown approximately 400,000 hours and more than 60 million miles.
• The closest airport to Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS) is Midland Airpark (MDD), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) WSW of BGS.
• The airfield was activated as Big Spring Air Force Base on 1 October 1951 by the United States Air Force Air Training Command and established the 3560th Pilot Training Wing.
• In 1956, the Air Defense Command 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was transferred to Webb from Stewart Air Force Base in New York to defend the southern United States border on air intercept missions as part of the Central Air Defense Force.
• Instruction of the first class began in April 1952.