Nonstop flight route between Ali-Sabieh, Djibouti and Atwater, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ali-Sabieh Airport (AII), Ali-Sabieh, Djibouti and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,913 miles (or 14,344 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 Ali-Sabieh Airport and Castle 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 Ali-Sabieh Airport and Castle 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 Ali-Sabieh Airport (AII):

• In addition to being known as "Ali-Sabieh Airport", another name for AII is "مطار علي سايبه".
• The closest airport to Ali-Sabieh Airport (AII) is Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport (JIB), which is located 40 miles (64 kilometers) NE of AII.
• The furthest airport from Ali-Sabieh Airport (AII) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is nearly antipodal to Ali-Sabieh Airport (meaning Ali-Sabieh Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Atuona Airport), and is located 12,285 miles (19,771 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.

Facts about Castle Airport (MER):

• Castle Airport covers an area of 1,360 acres which contains one runway with an 11,802 x 150 ft asphalt and concrete pavement.
• It was estimated that the cost to relocate the 129 RQW to Castle, to include associated military construction costs, could be recouped in seven years.
• 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.
• The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.
• The airport is located at the former Castle Air Force Base which closed in 1995.