Nonstop flight route between Qaarsut / Uummannaq, Greenland and Atwater, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Qaarsut Airport (JQA), Qaarsut / Uummannaq, Greenland and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,302 miles (or 5,314 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 Qaarsut 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 Qaarsut Airport 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 Qaarsut Airport (JQA):

• The airport thus functions as a mini-hub for Uummannaq, with the terminal building labelled 'Uummannaq', regardless of its actual location, registration, documentation, and existing booking systems.
• The decision to build the airport in Qaarsut was intended to solve the bottleneck on the Ilulissat-Uummannaq route, until then operated by Air Greenland with Sikorsky S-61N helicopters.
• The bottleneck problem is considered unsolved, since passengers must still be shuttled between the airport and Uummannaq Heliport.
• The closest airport to Qaarsut Airport (JQA) is Uummannaq Heliport (UMD), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) ESE of JQA.
• Because of Qaarsut Airport's relatively low elevation of 289 feet, planes can take off or land at Qaarsut 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.
• Tower of Qaarsut Airport
• Qaarsut Airport is an airport in Qaarsut, a settlement on the Nuussuaq Peninsula in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland.
• Qaarsut Airport (JQA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Qaarsut Airport", other names for JQA include "Mittarfik Qaarsut" and "Uummannaq/Qaarsut Airport".
• The furthest airport from Qaarsut Airport (JQA) is Hobart International Airport (HBA), which is located 10,387 miles (16,716 kilometers) away in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
• Check-in desk of Qaarsut Airport
• Qaarsut Airport handled 7,105 passengers last year.

Facts about Castle Airport (MER):

• The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.
• 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.
• Castle Airport covers an area of 1,360 acres which contains one runway with an 11,802 x 150 ft asphalt and concrete pavement.
• The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• 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.
• 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.