Nonstop flight route between Alajeró / San Sebastián, Canary Islands, Spain and El Centro, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between La Gomera Airport (GMZ), Alajeró / San Sebastián, Canary Islands, Spain and Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK), El Centro, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,640 miles (or 9,076 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 La Gomera Airport and Naval Air Facility El Centro, 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 La Gomera Airport and Naval Air Facility El Centro. 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 La Gomera Airport (GMZ):

• The closest airport to La Gomera Airport (GMZ) is Tenerife-South Airport (TFS), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) E of GMZ.
• In the year 1962, the island had a lot of sanitary assistance problems, so studies to build an airport in the island were started, but this project was not carried out until 1975.
• La Gomera Airport (GMZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Although the runway was completed in 1994, the terminal did not open until 1999.
• The furthest airport from La Gomera Airport (GMZ) is Norfolk Island Airport (NLK), which is nearly antipodal to La Gomera Airport (meaning La Gomera Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Norfolk Island Airport), and is located 12,116 miles (19,499 kilometers) away in Norfolk Island, Australia.
• Because of La Gomera Airport's relatively low elevation of 716 feet, planes can take off or land at La Gomera 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.
• Finally, in the 1980s, problems with wounded evacuations necessitated building an airport in the island, and on 27 July 1987 an agreement for the construction of the airport was signed.
• In addition to being known as "La Gomera Airport", another name for GMZ is "La Gomera Airport ODB".

Facts about Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK):

• The furthest airport from Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,532 miles (18,558 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Much of the movie "Jarhead" was filmed around El Centro and many of the extras from the movie were from NAF El Centro.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Facility El Centro", another name for NJK is "KNJK - FAA: NJK".
• The closest airport to Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK) is Imperial County Airport (IPL), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) E of NJK.
• Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK) has 2 runways.
• Apart from "touch and go" landings and take-offs, aircrews use the many ranges at NAF El Centro to develop their skills.
• For the first 35 years, the mission of NAF El Centro was devoted to aeronautical escape system testing, evaluation, and design.