Nonstop flight route between Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom and Atwater, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Belfast International Airport (BFS), Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,989 miles (or 8,028 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 Belfast International 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 Belfast International 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 Belfast International Airport (BFS):

• Belfast International Airport (BFS) has 2 runways.
• Belfast International Airport handled 4,023,336 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Belfast International Airport (BFS) is George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) E of BFS.
• During the Second World War, Aldergrove remained an RAF base particularly for the Coastal Command.
• In 1998 EasyJet started operations from the airport with flights to London Luton.
• In January 2011, Bmibaby moved to George Best Belfast City Airport in order to keep its operation under one roof with sister company BMI.
• Because of Belfast International Airport's relatively low elevation of 268 feet, planes can take off or land at Belfast 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.
• In addition to being known as "Belfast International Airport", another name for BFS is "Belfast/Aldergrove Airport".
• The site for the airport was established in 1917 when it was selected to be a Royal Flying Corps training establishment during the First World War.
• Between 2006 - 2008, both easyJet and Aer Lingus established a number of new routes for Belfast including Berlin, Budapest, Prague, Rome, Munich and Venice, all of which were eventually scrapped.
• The furthest airport from Belfast International Airport (BFS) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,847 miles (19,065 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.

Facts about Castle Airport (MER):

• Since the mid-1940s, aircraft maintenance, fuel management, and fire training activities on the base have generated wastes that consist primarily of waste fuels, oils, solvents, and cleaners.
• 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 EPA currently has this base listed on their database due to the bulk wastes such as solvents, oils, fuels, and sludges which were disposed in pits at landfills around the base until 1977.
• It serves one school, Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, which specializes in training foreign pilots, from the People's Republic of China.
• Castle Airport is a public use airport located seven nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Merced, a city in Merced County, California, United States.
• The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.