Nonstop flight route between Bordeaux / Mérignac, France and Cold Bay, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD), Bordeaux / Mérignac, France and Cold Bay Airport (CDB), Cold Bay, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,445 miles (or 8,764 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 Cold Bay 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 Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport and Cold Bay 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 Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD):

• Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport is the international airport of Bordeaux, the ninth largest city in France.
• 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.
• 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.
• General Charles de Gaulle took off from the airport to travel to London in 1940, and the following day he broadcast the Appeal of 18 June.
• Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD) has 2 runways.
• In 1957, C-119G transports from Évreux AB, France moved the USAFE Mobile Headquarters from Wiesbaden AB, Ger.
• Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport handled 457,435 passengers last year.
• 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 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.
• The airport is accessible by car via the A630 autoroute.
• In addition to being known as "Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport", another name for BOD is "Aéroport de Bordeaux-Mérignac".
• Mérignac airport has three terminals.

Facts about Cold Bay Airport (CDB):

• On September 8, 1973 World Airways Flight 802 a Military Airlift Command cargo flight crashed into Mount Dutton when on approach to Cold Bay.
• In the spring and summer of 1945, Cold Bay was the site of the largest and most ambitious transfer program of World War II, Project Hula, in which the United States transferred 149 ships and craft to the Soviet Union and trained 12,000 Soviet personnel in their operation in anticipation of the Soviet Union entering the war against Japan.
• Because of Cold Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 102 feet, planes can take off or land at Cold Bay 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 was redesignated from Army Air Base to an Air Force Base on 28 March 1948 along with seven other Army Air Bases in Alaska.
• In addition to being known as "Cold Bay Airport", other names for CDB include "Cold Bay Air Force Station" and "Fort Randall Army Airfield".
• The 5042d ABS was discontinued on 1 January 1950 per AAC General Order Number 198, dated 13 December 1949, due to budget restrictions.
• The closest airport to Cold Bay Airport (CDB) is King Cove Airport (KVC), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) ESE of CDB.
• The furthest airport from Cold Bay Airport (CDB) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,968 miles (17,652 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• Cold Bay Airport (CDB) has 2 runways.
• Cold Bay's main runway is the fifth-largest in Alaska and was built during World War II.
• A myth describes Cold Bay Airport as an alternate landing site for Space Shuttles, but the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has stated that it was never so designated, and it was not within the entry crossrange capability of Space Shuttles.