Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Confins (near Belo Horizonte), Minas Gerais, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Tancredo Neves/Confins International Airport (CNF), Confins (near Belo Horizonte), Minas Gerais, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,339 miles (or 10,201 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 Tancredo Neves/Confins 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 Tancredo Neves/Confins International 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):

• Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 was estimated that the cost to relocate the 129 RQW to Castle, to include associated military construction costs, could be recouped in seven years.
• The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of 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.

Facts about Tancredo Neves/Confins International Airport (CNF):

• The closest airport to Tancredo Neves/Confins International Airport (CNF) is Belo Horizonte/Pampulha–Carlos Drummond de Andrade Airport (PLU), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) S of CNF.
• Tancredo Neves/Confins International Airport handled 10,301,288 passengers last year.
• Its cargo facilities have a capacity of handling 18.000 tones and the warehouse has 6.400 m².
• In addition to being known as "Tancredo Neves/Confins International Airport", another name for CNF is "Aeroporto Internacional Tancredo Neves/Confins".
• In 2012 the airport was ranked 5th in terms of transported passengers, and 8th in terms of aircraft operations, placing it amongst the busiest airports in the country.
• Tancredo Neves/Confins International Airport (CNF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Tancredo Neves/Confins International Airport (CNF) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is located 11,945 miles (19,224 kilometers) away in Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan.
• On 31 August 2009, Infraero unveiled a BRL342.3 million investiment plan to up-grade Tancredo Neves International Airport focusing on the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup which will be held in Brazil, Belo Horizonte being one of the venue cities.