Nonstop flight route between King City, California, United States and Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mesa Del Rey Airport (KIC), King City, California, United States and Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX), Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,779 miles (or 14,128 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 Mesa Del Rey Airport and Alula Aba Nega 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 Mesa Del Rey Airport and Alula Aba Nega 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 Mesa Del Rey Airport (KIC):

• Opened in April 1940 as Palo Alto Airport or King City Airport.
• The closest airport to Mesa Del Rey Airport (KIC) is Roberts Army Heliport (SYL), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) SE of KIC.
• Mesa Del Rey Airport (KIC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Mesa Del Rey Airport's relatively low elevation of 374 feet, planes can take off or land at Mesa Del Rey 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 furthest airport from Mesa Del Rey Airport (KIC) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,390 miles (18,330 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Mesa Del Rey Airport covers an area of 149 acres at an elevation of 374 feet above mean sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Mesa Del Rey Airport", other names for KIC include "(former King City Airport)" and "(former King City Naval Aux. Air Station)".

Facts about Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX):

• Because of Alula Aba Nega Airport's high elevation of 7,406 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MQX. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MQX a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Alula Aba Nega Airport, also known as Mek'ele Airport, is an airport serving Mek'ele, the capital city of the Tigray Region in northern Ethiopia.
• In addition to being known as "Alula Aba Nega Airport", another name for MQX is "አሉላ አባ ነጋ ዓለም አቀፍ የአየር ማረፊያ".
• On 22 August 1982, Douglas DC-3 ET-AHP of Ethiopian Airlines was damaged beyond repair in a take-off accident.
• The closest airport to Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX) is Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport (AXU), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) NW of MQX.
• Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Alula Aba Nega Airport handled 112,060 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX) is Fangatau Airport (FGU), which is nearly antipodal to Alula Aba Nega Airport (meaning Alula Aba Nega Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fangatau Airport), and is located 12,272 miles (19,750 kilometers) away in Fangatau, French Polynesia.
• This airport was built in the late 1990s to replace an older one located 7 km from Mek'ele.