Nonstop flight route between Van, Turkey and Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VAN to BIF:
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- About this route
- VAN Airport Information
- BIF Airport Information
- Facts about VAN
- Facts about BIF
- Map of Nearest Airports to VAN
- List of Nearest Airports to VAN
- Map of Furthest Airports from VAN
- List of Furthest Airports from VAN
- Map of Nearest Airports to BIF
- List of Nearest Airports to BIF
- Map of Furthest Airports from BIF
- List of Furthest Airports from BIF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN), Van, Turkey and Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,202 miles (or 11,591 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 Van Ferit Melen Airport and Biggs 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 Van Ferit Melen Airport and Biggs Army Airfield. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | VAN / LTCI |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Van, Turkey |
| GPS Coordinates: | 38°28'5"N by 43°19'55"E |
| Area Served: | Van |
| Operator/Owner: | Turkish Government Airport Management |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 5480 feet (1,670 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from VAN |
| More Information: | VAN Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | BIF / KBIF |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 31°50'57"N by 106°22'47"W |
| Operator/Owner: | U.S. Army ATCA-ASO |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 3946 feet (1,203 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from BIF |
| More Information: | BIF Maps & Info |
Facts about Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN):
- The furthest airport from Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,369 miles (18,296 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
- Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Van Ferit Melen Airport", another name for VAN is "Ferit Melen Havaalanı".
- The closest airport to Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN) is Agri Airport (AJI), which is located 84 miles (134 kilometers) N of VAN.
- Because of Van Ferit Melen Airport's high elevation of 5,480 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at VAN. Combined with a high temperature, this could make VAN a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
Facts about Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):
- In April 1943, the airfield came under the command of the Second Air Force and became headquarters for the XX Bomber Command.
- The furthest airport from Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,387 miles (18,325 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
- With the arrival of the 95th Bomb Wing in June 1952, the host unit at Biggs was changed to the SAC 810th Air Division, which operationally controlled both the 97th and 95th Bombardment Wings.
- In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
- The 97th Air Refueling Squadron, activated in March 1949, saw its manning increase as it received its first KB-29P in January 1950.
- The closest airport to Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is El Paso International Airport (ELP), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) S of BIF.
- A period of organization and continued construction followed, with II Bomber Command taking over training.
