Nonstop flight route between Wallis and Futuna Islands and Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WLS to BIF:
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- About this route
- WLS Airport Information
- BIF Airport Information
- Facts about WLS
- Facts about BIF
- Map of Nearest Airports to WLS
- List of Nearest Airports to WLS
- Map of Furthest Airports from WLS
- List of Furthest Airports from WLS
- 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 Wallis Island (WLS), Wallis and Futuna Islands and Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,566 miles (or 8,957 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 Wallis Island 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 Wallis Island 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: | WLS / NLWW |
| Airport Name: | Wallis Island |
| Location: | Wallis and Futuna Islands |
| GPS Coordinates: | 13°16'1"S by 176°11'59"W |
| Elevation: | 0 feet (0 meters) |
| View all routes: | Routes from WLS |
| More Information: | WLS 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 Wallis Island (WLS):
- Wallis and Futuna was Established as Apostolic Vicariate in November 11, 1935 and promoted as Diocese June 21, 1966.
- At their arrival, Catholic missionaries were welcomed by the King Vaimua Lavelua then baptized "Soane-Patita Vaimua".
- The furthest airport from Wallis Island (WLS) is Diori Hamani International Airport (NIM), which is nearly antipodal to Wallis Island (meaning Wallis Island is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Diori Hamani International Airport), and is located 12,326 miles (19,837 kilometers) away in Niamey, Niger.
- Because of Wallis Island's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Wallis Island 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.
- The King appoints the six ministers.
- The King also appoints, on proposition of the populations, three chiefs for each district.
- The closest airport to Wallis Island (WLS) is Aéroport de Futuna - Pointe-Vele Pointe Vele Airport (FUT), which is located 145 miles (233 kilometers) WSW of WLS.
- Archaeological excavations have identified sites on Wallis dating from circa 1400 AD.
Facts about Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):
- The 97th experienced two mission changes in 1955.
- Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- In 1958, the ability of the B-47 to penetrate Soviet airspace became compromised by improvements to the Soviet air defense system.
- 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.
- In 1920 Camp Owen Bierne opened on the site of the current airbase as a base for airship operations but the units were soon disbanded.
- 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.
- After World War II, B-29 Superfortress personnel replacement training ended in October.
