Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Geneva, Switzerland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Geneva International Airport (GVA), Geneva, Switzerland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,781 miles (or 9,304 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 Geneva 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 Geneva 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):

• 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.
• Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
• Castle Airport covers an area of 1,360 acres which contains one runway with an 11,802 x 150 ft asphalt and concrete pavement.
• It serves one school, Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, which specializes in training foreign pilots, from the People's Republic of China.
• 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 furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.

Facts about Geneva International Airport (GVA):

• In addition to being known as "Geneva International Airport", another name for GVA is "Aéroport international de GenèveGenève aéroport".
• Winter weekends see dozens of coaches at the nearby Charter terminal meeting charter flights from all over Europe, but primarily the UK.
• Before Switzerland's integration into the Schengen Area in 2008, Pier F, also known as the French Sector, was used exclusively for passengers arriving from, or departing to French destinations.
• The furthest airport from Geneva International Airport (GVA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Geneva International Airport (meaning Geneva International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,227 miles (19,678 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Geneva International Airport handled 14,436,000 passengers last year.
• Before passing through customs, machines dispense free 80 minute tickets for Transports Publics Genevois, which are valid for both the city buses and trains to Geneva.
• The closest airport to Geneva International Airport (GVA) is Annemasse Aerodrome (QNJ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of GVA.
• Geneva International Airport (GVA) has 2 runways.
• In 1968 the construction of a second runway and a mid-field round terminal were proposed, but ultimately the concept was never realised.