Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and near Kralendijk, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MER to BON:
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- About this route
- MER Airport Information
- BON Airport Information
- Facts about MER
- Facts about BON
- Map of Nearest Airports to MER
- List of Nearest Airports to MER
- Map of Furthest Airports from MER
- List of Furthest Airports from MER
- Map of Nearest Airports to BON
- List of Nearest Airports to BON
- Map of Furthest Airports from BON
- List of Furthest Airports from BON
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Flamingo International Airport (BON), near Kralendijk, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,658 miles (or 5,886 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 Castle Airport and Flamingo International 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 Castle Airport and Flamingo International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | MER / KMER |
| Airport Name: | Castle Airport |
| Location: | Atwater, California, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 37°22'50"N by 120°34'5"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Merced County Department of Commerce, Aviation, and Economic Development |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 191 feet (58 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from MER |
| More Information: | MER Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | BON / TNCB |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | near Kralendijk, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands |
| GPS Coordinates: | 12°7'51"N by 68°16'6"W |
| Area Served: | Bonaire |
| Operator/Owner: | Government |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 20 feet (6 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from BON |
| More Information: | BON Maps & Info |
Facts about Castle Airport (MER):
- Since the mid-1940s, aircraft maintenance, fuel management, and fire training activities on the base have generated wastes that consist primarily of waste fuels, oils, solvents, and cleaners.
- It was estimated that the cost to relocate the 129 RQW to Castle, to include associated military construction costs, could be recouped in seven years.
- Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- Because of Castle Airport's relatively low elevation of 191 feet, planes can take off or land at Castle 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 EPA currently has this base listed on their database due to the bulk wastes such as solvents, oils, fuels, and sludges which were disposed in pits at landfills around the base until 1977.
- The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.
Facts about Flamingo International Airport (BON):
- Flamingo International Airport or Bonaire International Airport is an international airport located at Kralendijk, Bonaire, Netherlands.
- BonAeroClub also offers sightseeing opportunities and also flight lessons with their Cessna 172.
- Because of Flamingo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Flamingo 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.
- The closest airport to Flamingo International Airport (BON) is Hato International Airport Curaçao International Airport (CUR), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) W of BON.
- In addition to being known as "Flamingo International Airport", another name for BON is "Bonaire International Airport".
- Flamingo International Airport (BON) currently has only 1 runway.
- The Dutch national carrier, KLM, used the airport to refuel planes en route from Amsterdam to Ecuador using MD-11 between 2000 and 2011.
- Management is working very hard to make sure that Bonaire International Airport is as safe as possible and this way could welcome the aircraft that come to Bonaire and contribute to the growth of the tourism on the island.
- The furthest airport from Flamingo International Airport (BON) is Abdul Rachman Saleh Airport (MLG), which is nearly antipodal to Flamingo International Airport (meaning Flamingo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Abdul Rachman Saleh Airport), and is located 12,139 miles (19,535 kilometers) away in Malang, East Java, Indonesia.
- The Flamingo Airport is large enough to accommodate most international wide-body airliners such as the Boeing 747, the Boeing 777, and the Airbus A340, although the largest wide-body type to operate to Bonaire today is the McDonnell Douglas MD-11, flown by KLM.
- Flamingo International Airport handled 462,897 passengers last year.
