Nonstop flight route between Bordeaux / Mérignac, France and San Juan Island, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD), Bordeaux / Mérignac, France and Roche Harbor Seaplane Base (RCE), San Juan Island, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,106 miles (or 8,217 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 Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport and Roche Harbor Seaplane 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 Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport and Roche Harbor Seaplane 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 Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD):

• Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport handled 457,435 passengers last year.
• During World War II the German Luftwaffe took control of the base and used it as a centre for maritime reconnaissance.
• Because of Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport's relatively low elevation of 162 feet, planes can take off or land at Bordeaux-Mérignac 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.
• As a consequence of the temporary closure of the Cazaux military base, the civil authorities have been forced to share the runway with the French Army since November 2005.
• The closest airport to Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD) is La Teste-de-Buch Airport (XAC), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) SW of BOD.
• The furthest airport from Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (meaning Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,215 miles (19,658 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD) has 2 runways.
• In 1951 Mérignac was turned over to NATO for use by the United States Air Force.
• After the war Air France resumed commercial operations out of Mérignac and the re-established French Air Force returned to use the facility.
• During the early years of the Cold War, Bordeaux-Mérignac was a front-line NATO facility for the United States Air Forces in Europe.
• In addition to being known as "Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport", another name for BOD is "Aéroport de Bordeaux-Mérignac".

Facts about Roche Harbor Seaplane Base (RCE):

• The furthest airport from Roche Harbor Seaplane Base (RCE) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,722 miles (17,256 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Roche Harbor Seaplane Base (RCE) is Friday Harbor Seaplane Base (FBS), which is located only 8 miles (14 kilometers) SE of RCE.
• In addition to being known as "Roche Harbor Seaplane Base", another name for RCE is "W39".
• Roche Harbor Seaplane Base (RCE) has 2 runways.
• Because of Roche Harbor Seaplane Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Roche Harbor Seaplane Base 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.