Nonstop flight route between Merced, California, United States and Castle Donington, Leicestershire, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Merced Regional Airport (MCE), Merced, California, United States and East Midlands Airport (EMA), Castle Donington, Leicestershire, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,225 miles (or 8,409 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 Merced Regional Airport and East Midlands 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 Merced Regional Airport and East Midlands 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 Merced Regional Airport (MCE):

• In 1941 construction delays at the Air Corps Basic Flying School site forced the Army to lease the original Merced Municipal Airport, resulting in the first aircraft assigned to the Air Corps Basic Flying School being stored at Merced Municipal Airport and giving the Basic Flying School its first usable axillary field.
• In addition to being known as "Merced Regional Airport", another name for MCE is "MacReady Field".
• The closest airport to Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Castle Airport (MER), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) NNW of MCE.
• Because of Merced Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 155 feet, planes can take off or land at Merced Regional 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.
• During the 1950s the airport was used to service United States Armed Forces aircraft, and a land acquisition in February 1955 allowed runway 12/30 to be extended.
• The furthest airport from Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,314 miles (18,209 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Merced Regional Airport (MCE) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about East Midlands Airport (EMA):

• On 28 August 2009, low fares airline Jet2.com announced that its seventh base would be at East Midlands Airport, starting with seven routes across Europe from May 2010 and two new winter routes from 20 December 2010 and have grown further since.
• The airport was originally a Royal Air Force station, RAF Castle Donington, which was decommissioned in 1946.
• East Midlands Airport (EMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of East Midlands Airport's relatively low elevation of 306 feet, planes can take off or land at East Midlands 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 East Midlands Airport (EMA) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• East Midlands Airport handled 4,334,117 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to East Midlands Airport (EMA) is RAF Cottesmore (OKH), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) ESE of EMA.
• Expansion was swift, with a further runway extension to 2,283 m and terminal upgrade in the late 1970s.
• A major development towards the long-haul programme came in 2005 with the introduction of holiday flights to the Dominican Republic, Orlando, and Cancún by First Choice Airways.
• The DEMAND Campaign was formed in 2004 to campaign against night flights at the airport and against increasing levels of noise generally.
• Since July 2013 Thomson Airways also operates with their Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft out of East Midlands, serving long haul holiday destinations such as Orlando or Cancun.