Nonstop flight route between Gondar, Ethiopia and Santa Ana, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gondar Atse Tewodros Airport (GDQ), Gondar, Ethiopia and MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,851 miles (or 14,244 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 Gondar Atse Tewodros 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 Gondar Atse Tewodros 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 Gondar Atse Tewodros Airport (GDQ):

• The closest airport to Gondar Atse Tewodros Airport (GDQ) is Debre Tabor Airport (DBT), which is located 59 miles (94 kilometers) SE of GDQ.
• The airport is named after the Emperor of Ethiopia Tewodros.
• The furthest airport from Gondar Atse Tewodros Airport (GDQ) is Raroia Airport (RRR), which is nearly antipodal to Gondar Atse Tewodros Airport (meaning Gondar Atse Tewodros Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Raroia Airport), and is located 12,193 miles (19,623 kilometers) away in Raroia, French Polynesia.
• In addition to being known as "Gondar Atse Tewodros Airport", another name for GDQ is "የጎንደር ዓፄ ቴዎድሮስ የአየር ማረፊያ".
• Because of Gondar Atse Tewodros Airport's high elevation of 6,542 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GDQ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GDQ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Gondar Atse Tewodros Airport (GDQ) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about MCAS El Toro (NZJ):

• The closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of NZJ.
• 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.
• In 1993, MCAS El Toro was designated for closing by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission and all of its activities were to be transferred to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
• 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.
• 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.
• MCAS El Toro (NZJ) has 5 runways.
• Those against the airport proposal were largely residents of the cities in the immediate vicinity of El Toro, such as Irvine, Lake Forest, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Dana Point, and Mission Viejo, where residents were alarmed at the idea of the aircraft noise.
• In May 1942, Lieutenant Colonel William Fox was directed to select the sites for all of the Marine Corps' West Coast air stations.
• This faction lobbied strongly in favor of other uses for the property.