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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Kuching International Airport (KCH), Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,175 miles (or 13,156 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 Kuching 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 Kuching 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• The airport is located at the former Castle Air Force Base which closed in 1995.
• 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.
• Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Kuching International Airport (KCH):

• As one of the two states in Malaysia which controls its own immigration autonomy, Sarawak exercises special regulation upon arriving and departing from all Sarawakian airports including Kuching.
• The airport was built by the British Government of Sarawak in the 1940s on the outskirts of Kuching town.
• Because of Kuching International Airport's relatively low elevation of 89 feet, planes can take off or land at Kuching 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 airport terminal is capable of handling five million passengers per annum and it is the fourth busiest airport in Malaysia.
• Construction of the terminal complex at the north site took a centre stage at the end of 1978 and was completed in July 1983.
• The furthest airport from Kuching International Airport (KCH) is Ipiranga Airport (IPG), which is nearly antipodal to Kuching International Airport (meaning Kuching International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ipiranga Airport), and is located 12,406 miles (19,965 kilometers) away in Santo Antônio do Içá, Amazonas, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Kuching International Airport", another name for KCH is "Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuching 古晋国际机场".
• Kuching International Airport (KCH) currently has only 1 runway.
• AirAsia may introduce daily flights from Kuching to Bangkok, Jakarta, Macau and Clark.
• The completed works involved above ground-level earthworks and pavement upgrades, extension of the runway length from 2454 metres to 3780 metres, widening of shoulders from 46 metres to 60 metres, extension of parallel taxiway to a full parallel taxiway with interconnection/rapid exit taxiways including widening of taxiway fillets and shoulders to 30 metres.
• The closest airport to Kuching International Airport (KCH) is Sematan Airport (BSE), which is located 61 miles (98 kilometers) SW of KCH.
• Kuching International Airport handled 4,871,036 passengers last year.
• As a result of the increasing number of passengers going into and out of Kuching, a completely new and larger terminal was needed.
• In December 1972, the government accepted the Consultant's report.
• As of 1999, two foreign airlines from both Singapore and Brunei as well as Malaysia's national carrier and as many as 8 private general aviation companies operated scheduled services into and out of Kuching International Airport.