Nonstop flight route between Brussels, Belgium and Merced, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Brussels Airport (BRU), Brussels, Belgium and Merced Regional Airport (MCE), Merced, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,493 miles (or 8,839 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 Brussels Airport and Merced Regional 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 Brussels Airport and Merced Regional 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 Brussels Airport (BRU):

• During the boom of commercial aviation in the 1960s and 1970s, several hangars were constructed.
• In 2007, the airport served 17.8 million passengers, an increase of 7% over 2006.
• From 6 December 2013, all passengers have 30 minutes free Wi-Fi access.
• Brussels Airport (BRU) has 3 runways.
• Brussels Airport handled 19,133,222 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Brussels Airport", another name for BRU is "Luchthaven Brussel-Nationaal (Dutch)Aéroport de Bruxelles-National (French)".
• The closest airport to Brussels Airport (BRU) is Antwerp International Airport (ANR), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) N of BRU.
• Because of Brussels Airport's relatively low elevation of 184 feet, planes can take off or land at Brussels 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 furthest airport from Brussels Airport (BRU) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,945 miles (19,223 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Pier B is the oldest pier that is still in use at Brussels Airport and is only used for flights outside the Schengen Area.

Facts about Merced Regional Airport (MCE):

• In addition to being known as "Merced Regional Airport", another name for MCE is "MacReady Field".
• Merced Regional Airport (MCE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,314 miles (18,209 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• In 1941 construction delays at the Air Corps Basic Flying School site forced the Army to lease the original Merced Municipal Airport, resulting in the first aircraft assigned to the Air Corps Basic Flying School being stored at Merced Municipal Airport and giving the Basic Flying School its first usable axillary field.
• The closest airport to Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Castle Airport (MER), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) NNW of MCE.
• Because of Merced Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 155 feet, planes can take off or land at Merced Regional 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.