Nonstop flight route between Trapani, Italy and Spokane, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS), Trapani, Italy and Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA), Spokane, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,778 miles (or 9,299 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 Fairchild 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 Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi and Fairchild 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 Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS):

• The airport is located 8 NM south of Trapani, and opened in the early 1960s.
• 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.
• Data from Assaeroporti.
• 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.
• Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi handled 1,878,557 passengers last year.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi", another name for TPS is "Aeroporto Vincenzo Florio di Trapani-Birgi".
• 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.
• 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.
• Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA):

• To provide air defense of the base, U.S.
• The furthest airport from Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,665 miles (17,163 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Since 1942, Fairchild Air Force Base/Station has been a key part of the United States' defense strategy—from World War II repair depot, to Strategic Air Command bomber wing during the Cold War, to Air Mobility Command air refueling wing during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.
• In addition to being known as "Fairchild Air Force Base", another name for SKA is "Fairchild AFB".
• The closest airport to Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Spokane International Airport (GEG), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) E of SKA.
• 7 December 1993 marked the beginning of a significant change in the mission of Fairchild when the B-52s were transferred to another ACC base while the KC-135s, now assigned to the newly established Air Mobility Command would remain.
• The weapons storage area for the bombers was located south of the runway at Deep Creek Air Force Station, a separate installation constructed from 1950 to 1953 by the Atomic Energy Commission and operated by the Air Materiel Command.