Nonstop flight route between Beja, Portugal and Riverside, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Beja Airport (BYJ), Beja, Portugal and March Air Reserve Base (RIV), Riverside, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,712 miles (or 9,193 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 Beja Airport and March Air Reserve Base, 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 Beja Airport and March Air Reserve Base. 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 Beja Airport (BYJ):

• Beja Airport (BYJ) has 2 runways.
• In spite of being the only Portuguese airport in Alentejo—the biggest Portuguese region, with an area comparable to the size of Belgium—the airport failed to attract the attention of low-cost carriers and has never had any scheduled regular flights.
• Beja Airport is an unused Portuguese airport that opened doors to civilian flights on April 15, 2011.
• In addition to being known as "Beja Airport", another name for BYJ is "Aeroporto de Beja".
• The furthest airport from Beja Airport (BYJ) is New Plymouth Airport (NPL), which is nearly antipodal to Beja Airport (meaning Beja Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from New Plymouth Airport), and is located 12,306 miles (19,804 kilometers) away in New Plymouth, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Beja Airport (BYJ) is Portimão Airport (PRM), which is located 73 miles (118 kilometers) SSW of BYJ.
• Because of Beja Airport's relatively low elevation of 636 feet, planes can take off or land at Beja 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.
• An airbase was established on 21 October 1964, originally built to serve as a training facility for the West German Air Force, due to airspace limitations within West Germany.

Facts about March Air Reserve Base (RIV):

• The furthest airport from March Air Reserve Base (RIV) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,461 miles (18,445 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• On 15 August 1947, the 1st Fighter Wing was activated as part of AAF Regulation 20-15, "Reorganization of AAF Base Units and Installations," on 27 June 1947.
• The Army quickly set about establishing the new air field.
• As March Field began to take on the appearance of a permanent military installation, the base's basic mission changed.
• The Attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 quickly brought March Field back into the business of training aircrews.
• However, by 1921, the decision had been made to phase down all activities at the base in accordance with sharply reduced military budgets.
• The signing of the armistice in November 1918 did not halt training at March Field.
• The closest airport to March Air Reserve Base (RIV) is Flabob Airport (RIR), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NW of RIV.