Nonstop flight route between Buraidah, Saudi Arabia and Atwater, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from ELQ to MER:
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- About this route
- ELQ Airport Information
- MER Airport Information
- Facts about ELQ
- Facts about MER
- Map of Nearest Airports to ELQ
- List of Nearest Airports to ELQ
- Map of Furthest Airports from ELQ
- List of Furthest Airports from ELQ
- Map of Nearest Airports to MER
- List of Nearest Airports to MER
- Map of Furthest Airports from MER
- List of Furthest Airports from MER
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport (ELQ), Buraidah, Saudi Arabia and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,921 miles (or 12,747 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 Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport and Castle 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 Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport and Castle Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | ELQ / OEGS |
Airport Name: | Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport |
Location: | Buraidah, Saudi Arabia |
GPS Coordinates: | 26°18'10"N by 43°46'26"E |
Area Served: | Gassim |
Operator/Owner: | General Authority of Civil Aviation |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 2126 feet (648 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from ELQ |
More Information: | ELQ Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MER / KMER |
Airport Name: | Castle Airport |
Location: | Atwater, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°22'50"N by 120°34'5"W |
Operator/Owner: | Merced County Department of Commerce, Aviation, and Economic Development |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 191 feet (58 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MER |
More Information: | MER Maps & Info |
Facts about Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport (ELQ):
- Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport (ELQ) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport (ELQ) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is nearly antipodal to Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport (meaning Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Totegegie Airport), and is located 12,199 miles (19,632 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
- The closest airport to Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport (ELQ) is Dawadmi Domestic Airport (DWD), which is located 130 miles (209 kilometers) S of ELQ.
Facts about Castle Airport (MER):
- Castle Airport is a public use airport located seven nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Merced, a city in Merced County, California, United States.
- Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Castle Airport's relatively low elevation of 191 feet, planes can take off or land at Castle 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.
- With its central location in the San Joaquin Valley, on the route of the proposed California High-Speed Rail system, and with a large, underdeveloped site, Castle Airport has been submitted as a possible location for the central maintenance facility for the system.
- The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.
- The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- It serves one school, Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, which specializes in training foreign pilots, from the People's Republic of China.
- In 2004, recommendations were made to relocate the 129th Rescue Wing of the California Air National Guard and its associated HC-130, MC-130 and HH-60 aircraft from Moffett Federal Airfield to the former Castle Air Force Base, now Castle Airport.