Nonstop flight route between Madrid, Spain and Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD), Madrid, Spain and Totegegie Airport (GMR), Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,381 miles (or 15,097 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 Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] and Totegegie 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 Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] and Totegegie 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 Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD):

• In the 1970s, with the boom in tourism and the arrival of the Boeing 747, the airport reached 4 million passengers, and began the construction of the international terminal.
• In addition to being known as "Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1]", another name for MAD is "Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas".
• In November 1998, the new runway 18R-36L started operations, 4,400 m long, one of the largest in Europe under expansion plans called Major Barajas.
• The furthest airport from Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD) is Palmerston North Airport (PMR), which is nearly antipodal to Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (meaning Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Palmerston North Airport), and is located 12,392 miles (19,943 kilometers) away in Palmerston North, New Zealand.
• Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD) has 4 runways.
• In October 2006, a bid was launched for the construction of a Cercanías link between Chamartín Station and Terminal 4.
• In December 2010, the Spanish government announced plans to tender Madrid-Barajas airport to companies in the private sector for a period of up to 40 years.
• In the 1950s, the airport supported over half a million passengers, increasing to 5 runways and scheduled flights to New York City began.
• Following the death of former Spanish Prime Minister, Adolfo Suárez, the Spanish Ministerio de Fomento has announced that the airport is to be renamed to Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez, Madrid–Barajas.
• The closest airport to Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD) is Madrid–Torrejón Airport (TOJ), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) ENE of MAD.
• On 27 January 2012, Spanair suspended all flights affecting Madrid-Barajas as well as other domestic and international connections.
• Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] handled 39,729,027 passengers last year.
• The Madrid–Barcelona air shuttle service, known as the "Puente Aéreo", literally called "Air Bridge", is the second busiest air route in Europe after İstanbul Atatürk and İzmir, with the highest number of flight operations in 2012.

Facts about Totegegie Airport (GMR):

• This shrub, Pemphis acidula, is widespread on Polynesian atolls and is best known as the miki miki.
• Totegegie Airport (GMR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Totegegie Airport (GMR) is Dawadmi Domestic Airport (DWD), which is nearly antipodal to Totegegie Airport (meaning Totegegie Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dawadmi Domestic Airport), and is located 12,323 miles (19,833 kilometers) away in Dawadmi, Saudi Arabia.
• The increase in passenger numbers is shown below.
• The closest airport to Totegegie Airport (GMR) is Tureira Airport (ZTA), which is located 285 miles (458 kilometers) WNW of GMR.
• Because of Totegegie Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Totegegie 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.