Nonstop flight route between Merced, California, United States and San José, Costa Rica:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Merced Regional Airport (MCE), Merced, California, United States and Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) (SJO), San José, Costa Rica would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,941 miles (or 4,732 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 Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO), 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 Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO). 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 addition to being known as "Merced Regional Airport", another name for MCE is "MacReady Field".
• The Department of Transportation reselected Great Lakes Airlines to provide Essential Air Service at Merced Regional Airport for the two-year period from October 1, 2012, through September 30, 2014.
• The airport was formerly served by Air Pacific, American Eagle, Golden Gate Airlines, United Airlines, United Express and US Airways Express.
• 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.
• 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.
• Merced Regional Airport (MCE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Castle Airport (MER), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) NNW of MCE.

Facts about Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) (SJO):

• Terminal buildings and main runway, 2003
• Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) handled 4,257,606 passengers last year.
• No major changes were made to the terminal until November 1997 when the government issued a decree requesting participation of private companies to manage the operations of the airport.
• The major operator in the airport is Avianca, followed by Copa Airlines.
• The closest airport to Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) (SJO) is Tobías Bolaños International Airport (SYQ), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) ESE of SJO.
• The furthest airport from Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) (SJO) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) (meaning Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,270 miles (19,746 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) (SJO) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO)", another name for SJO is "Aeropuerto Internacional Juan Santamaría".