Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Bintulu, Malaysia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Bintulu Airport (BTU), Bintulu, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,013 miles (or 12,895 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 Bintulu 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 Bintulu 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 Castle Airport (MER):

• 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.
• Castle Airport is a public use airport located seven nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Merced, a city in Merced County, California, United States.
• The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.
• The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• 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.
• With its central location in the San Joaquin Valley, on the route of the proposed California High-Speed Rail system, and with a large, underdeveloped site, Castle Airport has been submitted as a possible location for the central maintenance facility for the system.
• 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.
• It serves one school, Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, which specializes in training foreign pilots, from the People's Republic of China.
• Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Bintulu Airport (BTU):

• Because of Bintulu Airport's relatively low elevation of 74 feet, planes can take off or land at Bintulu 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.
• In addition to being known as "Bintulu Airport", other names for BTU include "Lapangan Terbang Bintulu" and "民都鲁机场".
• In September 2005, first low-cost airline in Malaysia, AirAsia started operating in Bintulu airport.
• In 1963, bigger types of aircraft such as DC-3 services were introduced.
• Bintulu Airport handled 779,774 passengers last year.
• Bintulu Airport (BTU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Bintulu Airport (BTU) is Carauari Airport (CAF), which is nearly antipodal to Bintulu Airport (meaning Bintulu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Carauari Airport), and is located 12,315 miles (19,820 kilometers) away in Carauari, Amazonas, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Bintulu Airport (BTU) is Belaga Airport (BLG), which is located 61 miles (99 kilometers) ESE of BTU.