Nonstop flight route between Lorient, France and Santa Ana, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lorient South Brittany Airport (LRT), Lorient, France and MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,500 miles (or 8,852 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 Lorient South Brittany Airport and MCAS El Toro, 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 Lorient South Brittany Airport and MCAS El Toro. 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 Lorient South Brittany Airport (LRT):

• Lorient South Brittany Airport or Aéroport de Lorient Bretagne Sud, also known as Lorient-Lann-Bihoué Airport, is the airport serving the city of Lorient.
• Because of Lorient South Brittany Airport's relatively low elevation of 160 feet, planes can take off or land at Lorient South Brittany 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.
• Lorient South Brittany Airport (LRT) has 2 runways.
• The airport is comparatively large, 3 km by 3 km, which is due to its being built during the Second World War to support German submarine operations from the nearby base in Lorient.
• In addition to being known as "Lorient South Brittany Airport", another name for LRT is "Aéroport de Lorient Bretagne Sud".
• The furthest airport from Lorient South Brittany Airport (LRT) is Oamaru Airport (OAM), which is nearly antipodal to Lorient South Brittany Airport (meaning Lorient South Brittany Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Oamaru Airport), and is located 12,112 miles (19,493 kilometers) away in Oamaru, North Otago, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Lorient South Brittany Airport (LRT) is Meucon Airport (VNE), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) E of LRT.

Facts about MCAS El Toro (NZJ):

• The site is currently used as a filming location, including the test track for the United States version of BBC's Top Gear franchise.
• Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the 4,682 acres home of Marine Corps aviation on the West Coast.
• The furthest airport from MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,486 miles (18,486 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Because of MCAS El Toro's relatively low elevation of 383 feet, planes can take off or land at MCAS El Toro 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.
• MCAS El Toro (NZJ) has 5 runways.
• Already the largest Marine air station on the West Coast, in 1944, funds were approved to double its size and operations.
• The closing of MCAS El Toro ignited a political firestorm over the eventual fate of the facility.
• The battle between pro-airport and anti-airport groups dominated Orange County politics for much of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
• Over the years, the VOCs had seeped into the groundwater, resulting in a plume of contaminated groundwater extending for three miles to the west of the station.
• The closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of NZJ.
• In 1993, MCAS El Toro was designated for closing by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission and all of its activities were to be transferred to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
• Those against the airport proposal were largely residents of the cities in the immediate vicinity of El Toro, such as Irvine, Lake Forest, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Dana Point, and Mission Viejo, where residents were alarmed at the idea of the aircraft noise.