Nonstop flight route between Westhampton Beach, New York, United States and Santiago, Chile:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK), Westhampton Beach, New York, United States and Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL), Santiago, Chile would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,131 miles (or 8,257 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 Francis S. Gabreski Airport and Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International 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 Francis S. Gabreski Airport and Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International 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 Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK):

• The furthest airport from Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,798 miles (18,988 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK) is Calverton Executive Airpark (CTO), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WNW of FOK.
• Francis S. Gabreski Airport (FOK) has 3 runways.
• The airport is both a general aviation facility utilized by corporate businesses, private aviation and air taxi services, and an Air National Guard base for the 106th Rescue Wing, an Air Combat Command -gained unit of the New York Air National Guard.
• Air Force One was also often located at the Air National Guard base in the summers of 1998 and 1999 during weeklong visits by President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton during extended stays at the Georgica Pond home of film director Steven Spielberg in East Hampton, New York.
• Known as Suffolk County Air Force Base until 1969, then Suffolk County Airport until 1991, when it was renamed in honor of Colonel Francis S.
• Suffolk County AFB was also the main support base for the Suffolk County Missile Annex, a nearby USAF CIM-10 Bomarc surface-to-air missile launch complex for the defense of the New York City metropolitan area under the control of a missile launch control center at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey.
• Renamed when the United States Air Force reclaimed the airport in 1951, Suffolk County Air Force Base was part of the Eastern Air Defense Force's defense of the New York City metropolitan area.
• Because of Francis S. Gabreski Airport's relatively low elevation of 67 feet, planes can take off or land at Francis S. Gabreski 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.

Facts about Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL):

• The closest airport to Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL) is Viña del Mar Airport (KNA), which is located 50 miles (81 kilometers) NW of SCL.
• During the 2010 Chile Earthquake, the passenger terminal building suffered internal damages and the collapse of a pedestrian bridge between the vehicle ramp and the departures area.
• In 2008, the airport terminal reached its maximum design capacity of 9.5 million annual passengers, 2 years earlier than forecast.
• Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL) is Ankang Wulipu Airport (AKA), which is nearly antipodal to Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (meaning Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ankang Wulipu Airport), and is located 12,387 miles (19,934 kilometers) away in Ankang, Shaanxi, China.
• The demands of the growing metropolitan area of Santiago and the need for modern, jet-era airport facilities, which could safely accommodate both domestic and intercontinental flights, drove the need to relocate the Chilean capital's principal airport from Los Cerrillos Airport in the denser southwest metropolitan region of Santiago to the more rural northwest metropolitan area.
• Construction on Runway 17R/35L began in 2004 and opened to traffic in September 2005.
• In addition to being known as "Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport", other names for SCL include "Pudahuel Airport" and "Santiago International Airport".
• For this reason, and with the repairs needed after the 2010 Chile Earthquake, the Ministry of Public Works announced in 2012 that it will call for proposals for the expansion and administration of the airport, 2 years prior to the end of the contract with the current operator.