Nonstop flight route between Keflavík (near Reykjavík), Iceland and Atwater, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Keflavík International Airport (KEF), Keflavík (near Reykjavík), Iceland and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,158 miles (or 6,691 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 Keflavík International 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 Keflavík International 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 Keflavík International Airport (KEF):

• The 10,000-foot-long and 200-foot-wide runways are long enough to support NASA's Space Shuttle and also the Antonov An-225.
• Because of Keflavík International Airport's relatively low elevation of 171 feet, planes can take off or land at Keflavík International 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.
• The closest airport to Keflavík International Airport (KEF) is Reykjavík Airport (RKV), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) ENE of KEF.
• The airport was built by the United States military during World War II.
• Keflavík Airport only handles international flights, domestic flights and flights to Greenland and the Faroe Islands are operated from Reykjavík's domestic airport.
• In addition to being known as "Keflavík International Airport", another name for KEF is "Keflavíkurflugvöllur".
• The furthest airport from Keflavík International Airport (KEF) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,188 miles (18,005 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Keflavík International Airport (KEF) has 2 runways.
• On 21 July 2013, a Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliner, prototype aircraft 97005, made a belly landing during a test flight.
• Although the population of Iceland is only about 300,000, there are scheduled flights to and from nine locations in the United States, four in Canada and 31 cities across Europe.

Facts about Castle Airport (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.
• The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• 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.
• It serves one school, Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, which specializes in training foreign pilots, from the People's Republic of China.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.
• The EPA currently has this base listed on their database due to the bulk wastes such as solvents, oils, fuels, and sludges which were disposed in pits at landfills around the base until 1977.
• Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.