Nonstop flight route between Nordkapp, Finnmark, Norway and Atwater, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Honningsvåg Airport, Valan (HVG), Nordkapp, Finnmark, Norway and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,768 miles (or 7,673 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 Honningsvåg Airport, Valan 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 Honningsvåg Airport, Valan and Castle 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 Honningsvåg Airport, Valan (HVG):

• Widerøe introduced the Dash 8 in 1995 and from 1 January 1997 ownership and operations was taken over by the Civil Aviation Administration.
• Honningsvåg was served by a seaplane route in the late 1930s, but these never resumed after World War II.
• In addition to being known as "Honningsvåg Airport, Valan", another name for HVG is "Honningsvåg lufthavn, Valan".
• The furthest airport from Honningsvåg Airport, Valan (HVG) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,409 miles (16,751 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Honningsvåg Airport, Valan's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at Honningsvåg Airport, Valan 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.
• DNL assumed the Finnmark route in 1947, but dropped Honningsvåg from the schedule.
• Honningsvåg Airport, Valan handled 15,067 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Honningsvåg Airport, Valan (HVG) is Mehamn Airport (MEH), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) E of HVG.

Facts about Castle Airport (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.
• 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.
• Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
• It serves one school, Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, which specializes in training foreign pilots, from the People's Republic of China.
• EPA investigations have been completed at multiple areas of contamination including landfills, discharge areas, chemical disposal areas, fire training areas, fuel spill areas, and polychlorinated biphenyl spill areas.
• 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.
• Since the mid-1940s, aircraft maintenance, fuel management, and fire training activities on the base have generated wastes that consist primarily of waste fuels, oils, solvents, and cleaners.