Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Coimbra, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Coimbra Airport (CBP), Coimbra, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,570 miles (or 8,964 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 Castle Airport and Coimbra 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 Castle Airport and Coimbra Airport. 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 Castle Airport (MER):

• The airport is located at the former Castle Air Force Base which closed in 1995.
• In 2004, recommendations were made to relocate the 129th Rescue Wing of the California Air National Guard and its associated HC-130, MC-130 and HH-60 aircraft from Moffett Federal Airfield to the former Castle Air Force Base, now Castle Airport.
• Because of Castle Airport's relatively low elevation of 191 feet, planes can take off or land at Castle 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.
• It serves one school, Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, which specializes in training foreign pilots, from the People's Republic of China.
• Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.
• The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.

Facts about Coimbra Airport (CBP):

• The closest airport to Coimbra Airport (CBP) is Covilhã Airport (COV), which is located 53 miles (85 kilometers) E of CBP.
• In addition to being known as "Coimbra Airport", another name for CBP is "Aeródromo Municipal Bissaya Barreto".
• The furthest airport from Coimbra Airport (CBP) is Takaka Aerodrome (KTF), which is nearly antipodal to Coimbra Airport (meaning Coimbra Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Takaka Aerodrome), and is located 12,352 miles (19,879 kilometers) away in Takaka, New Zealand.
• Coimbra Airport (CBP) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Coimbra Airport's relatively low elevation of 571 feet, planes can take off or land at Coimbra 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.