Nonstop flight route between Charleroi, Wallonia, Belgium and Palmdale, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL), Charleroi, Wallonia, Belgium and Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD), Palmdale, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,596 miles (or 9,006 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 South Charleroi Airport and Palmdale 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 South Charleroi Airport and Palmdale 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 South Charleroi Airport (CRL):

• Because of Brussels South Charleroi Airport's relatively low elevation of 614 feet, planes can take off or land at Brussels South Charleroi 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 South Charleroi Airport (CRL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,975 miles (19,272 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The European Commission objected to assistance the airport offered to Ryanair, since the airport is owned by the Wallonia regional government and thus the discounts and other benefits could be considered state aid.
• The airport is accessible by the highway from Brussels, Liège or Lille.
• Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Operations at Brussels-South Charleroi grew in the 1990s, with a new commercial management structure and the arrival of Irish low cost airline Ryanair in 1997, which opened its first continental base at Charleroi a few years later.
• In addition to being known as "Brussels South Charleroi Airport", another name for CRL is "Aéroport de Charleroi Bruxelles Sud".
• During World War II, the site was arranged as an Advanced Landing Ground for the allied air forces, from 14 September 1944 until 10 August 1945.
• The closest airport to Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL) is Brussels Airport (BRU), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) N of CRL.
• Brussels South Charleroi Airport handled 6,516,427 passengers last year.

Facts about Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD):

• In 1940, Palmdale Army Airfield was activated as a United States Army Air Corps airfield for use as an emergency landing strip and for B-25 Mitchell medium bomber support training during World War II.
• Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The Blackbird Airpark Museum and the adjacent Palmdale Plant 42 Heritage Airpark have recently been opened on Plant 42 property along Avenue P with displays of the SR-71, U-2, Century Series fighters and other aircraft designed, engineered, manufactured, and flight tested at its facilities.
• The closest airport to Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is General Wm. J. Fox Airfield (WJF), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) NW of PMD.
• PMD and Plant 42 are separate facilities that share a common runway at the site.
• Both the Air Force and its aircraft contractors needed a location away from major population centers - due to sonic booms, other noises and security concerns - but close enough to the major centers of aircraft design and production, while having excellent flying weather the year around.
• The Blackbird Airpark Museum is an extension of the AFFTC Museum at Edwards AFB, while the Heritage Airpark is operated by the City of Palmdale.
• LAWA has used Plant 42's facilities in past years when at one point in the early 1990s several airlines used the Palmdale Regional Airport terminal sited on Plant 42.