Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Dipolog Airport (DPL), Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,238 miles (or 11,649 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 Dipolog 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 Dipolog 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 covers an area of 1,360 acres which contains one runway with an 11,802 x 150 ft asphalt and concrete pavement.
• 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 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.
• Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Dipolog Airport (DPL):

• DOTC repackaged the project in 2005 into the Southern Philippines Airport Development Project for funding.
• In addition to being known as "Dipolog Airport", another name for DPL is "Paliparan ng Dipolog".
• The furthest airport from Dipolog Airport (DPL) is Piloto Osvaldo Marques Dias Airport (AFL), which is nearly antipodal to Dipolog Airport (meaning Dipolog Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Piloto Osvaldo Marques Dias Airport), and is located 12,341 miles (19,862 kilometers) away in Alta Floresta, Brazil.
• In 2002, at least 25% of the passenger traffic bound for Dipolog Airport are composed of foreign tourists.
• In 2005, the airport handled 75,751 passengers.
• Because of Dipolog Airport's relatively low elevation of 12 feet, planes can take off or land at Dipolog 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 new parking area would have a capacity of 100 vehicles when completed by the end of the year.
• In December 2006, it registered a maximum traffic of 330 daily passengers on several occasions based on the aircraft's available capacity serving the route with Philippine Airlines utilizing the much bigger Boeing 737-400 with a seating capacity of 180 passengers.
• Dipolog Airport handled 165,163 passengers last year.
• Dipolog Airport (DPL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Dipolog Airport (DPL) is Labo Airport (OZC), which is located 45 miles (73 kilometers) SE of DPL.
• The original terminal was made of composite wood material located at the northern side of the runway near the Philippine Constabulary Camp, now Camp Hamac in Sicayab.