Nonstop flight route between Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Colombo, Sri Lanka:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BIF to CMB:
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- About this route
- BIF Airport Information
- CMB Airport Information
- Facts about BIF
- Facts about CMB
- Map of Nearest Airports to BIF
- List of Nearest Airports to BIF
- Map of Furthest Airports from BIF
- List of Furthest Airports from BIF
- Map of Nearest Airports to CMB
- List of Nearest Airports to CMB
- Map of Furthest Airports from CMB
- List of Furthest Airports from CMB
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), Colombo, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,709 miles (or 15,624 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 Biggs Army Airfield and Bandaranaike International 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 Biggs Army Airfield and Bandaranaike International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | CMB / VCBI |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Colombo, Sri Lanka |
GPS Coordinates: | 7°10'51"N by 79°53'0"E |
Area Served: | Colombo |
Operator/Owner: | Sri Lankan Government |
Airport Type: | Public / Military |
Elevation: | 26 feet (8 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CMB |
More Information: | CMB Maps & Info |
Facts about Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):
- Biggs Field is now the home of the United States Army 1st Armored Division.
- Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
- With the activation of TAC, the new command assigned Headquarters, Ninth Air Force to Biggs on 28 March upon its return from Germany.
- Along with the B-50-equipped 97th Bomb Wing, Strategic Air Command established the 95th Bombardment Wing at Biggs in June 1952 and planned to base its heavy B-36 Peacemaker heavy bomber at the base.
- Between the two World Wars, Biggs served as a refueling stop for transient aircraft.
- The 97th Air Refueling Squadron, activated in March 1949, saw its manning increase as it received its first KB-29P in January 1950.
- 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.
- After World War II, B-29 Superfortress personnel replacement training ended in October.
- In April 1943, the 330th Bombardment Group was established at Biggs to begin replacement training of personnel, rather than the training of entire groups.
- In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
- 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.
Facts about Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB):
- It was named after former Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike, in 1970.
- The second phase of the expansion project is being carried out with Japanese assistance and is expected to be completed by 2015.
- Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) currently has only 1 runway.
- A new split-level passenger terminal building which separates arrivals and departures vertically, a new pier with eight boarding gates and 14 passenger boarding bridges with a dedicated gate comprising two passenger boarding bridges for the operations of the new Airbus A380, will be included in the proposed new complex.
- Because of Bandaranaike International Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Bandaranaike International 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.
- The closest airport to Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) is Ratmalana Airport (RML), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) S of CMB.
- In addition to being known as "Bandaranaike International Airport", another name for CMB is "බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළபண்டாரநாயக்க பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்".
- Bandaranaike International Airport is one of the two international airports serving the city of Colombo, the other is Ratmalana Airport.
- Bandaranaike International Airport handled 7,328,798 passengers last year.
- The furthest airport from Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,614 miles (18,691 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
- In the early 1990s the position of the airport's runway was shifted northward and the old runway was made into a taxiway for departing and arriving aircraft.
- Bandaranaike International Airport is equipped with 18 double jetway gates in preparation for airlines introducing the Airbus A380.