Nonstop flight route between Madrid, Spain and San Diego / El Cajon, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD), Madrid, Spain and Gillespie Field (SEE), San Diego / El Cajon, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,830 miles (or 9,383 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 Gillespie Field, 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 Gillespie Field. 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):

• 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.
• In the 1990s, the airport expanded further.
• Originally, the flight field was a large circle bordered in white with the name of Madrid in its interior, unpaved, consisting of land covered with natural grass.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1]", another name for MAD is "Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas".
• During the construction of Terminal 4, two more runways were constructed to aid in the flow of air traffic arriving and departing from Barajas.
• Terminals 1, 2 and 3 are adjacent terminals that are home to SkyTeam and Star Alliance airlines, as well as Air Europa.
• Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD) has 4 runways.
• Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] handled 39,729,027 passengers last year.
• In the 1950s, the airport supported over half a million passengers, increasing to 5 runways and scheduled flights to New York City began.
• 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.
• On 27 January 2012, Spanair suspended all flights affecting Madrid-Barajas as well as other domestic and international connections.

Facts about Gillespie Field (SEE):

• The FAA says in 2010 Gillespie Field was the 44th busiest airport in the United States.
• In February 1944, the camp was commissioned as Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield Gillespie under the command of Marine Corps Air Station El Toro.
• The furthest airport from Gillespie Field (SEE) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,534 miles (18,562 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Because of Gillespie Field's relatively low elevation of 388 feet, planes can take off or land at Gillespie Field 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.
• Gillespie Field (SEE) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Gillespie Field (SEE) is Montgomery Field (MYF), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) W of SEE.