Nonstop flight route between Chicago, Illinois, United States and Arcachon, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), Chicago, Illinois, United States and La Teste-de-Buch Airport (XAC), Arcachon, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,150 miles (or 6,679 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 Chicago Midway International Airport and La Teste-de-Buch 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 Chicago Midway International Airport and La Teste-de-Buch 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 Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW):

• In 2002 Midway welcomed the return of international service after a 40-year absence with the opening of the new Federal Inspection Service facility in Concourse A.
• The closest airport to Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) is Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) NNW of MDW.
• In 1979 Midway Airlines began operations, the first to do so after the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978.
• The furthest airport from Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,083 miles (17,836 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because Midway is surrounded by buildings and other development, the landing thresholds of the runways are displaced to provide a proper obstacle clearance.
• Because of Chicago Midway International Airport's relatively low elevation of 620 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago Midway International 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.
• Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) has 5 runways.
• Today, Southwest Airlines is the largest airline serving Midway with 253 daily flights.

Facts about La Teste-de-Buch Airport (XAC):

• The closest airport to La Teste-de-Buch Airport (XAC) is Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) NE of XAC.
• In addition to being known as "La Teste-de-Buch Airport", another name for XAC is "Aéroport d'Arcachon - La Teste-de-Buch".
• La Teste-de-Buch Airport (XAC) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from La Teste-de-Buch Airport (XAC) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to La Teste-de-Buch Airport (meaning La Teste-de-Buch Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,200 miles (19,634 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of La Teste-de-Buch Airport's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at La Teste-de-Buch 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.