Nonstop flight route between Isla de Culebra, Puerto Rico and Santa Ana, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX), Isla de Culebra, Puerto Rico and MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,386 miles (or 5,449 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 Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport and MCAS El Toro, 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 Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport and MCAS El Toro. 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 Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX):

• The airport of Culebra was originally built as a military airport by the United States Marine Corps, opening in 1957.
• Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport covers an area of 15 acres at an elevation of 49 feet above mean sea level.
• On July 1, 2011, a Cessna 185 that took off from Benjamin Rivera Noriega airport with a family of five on board, registration number N8436Q, crashed while on its way to Mercedita Airport in Ponce.
• Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport handled 75,964 passengers last year.
• Because of Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at Benjamín Rivera Noriega 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 Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (meaning Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,254 miles (19,722 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport", another name for CPX is "Aeropuerto Benjamín Rivera Noriega".
• The closest airport to Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX) is Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) SW of CPX.
• Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about MCAS El Toro (NZJ):

• Because of MCAS El Toro's relatively low elevation of 383 feet, planes can take off or land at MCAS El Toro 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.
• MCAS El Toro (NZJ) has 5 runways.
• Already the largest Marine air station on the West Coast, in 1944, funds were approved to double its size and operations.
• In May 1942, Lieutenant Colonel William Fox was directed to select the sites for all of the Marine Corps' West Coast air stations.
• The closing of MCAS El Toro ignited a political firestorm over the eventual fate of the facility.
• The furthest airport from MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,486 miles (18,486 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The battle between pro-airport and anti-airport groups dominated Orange County politics for much of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
• The closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of NZJ.
• Before the site could be developed for civilian use, the Department of the Navy was required to perform environmental remediation to clean up contaminated soil on the site.