Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Luanda, Angola:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport (LAD), Luanda, Angola would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,952 miles (or 14,407 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 Quatro de Fevereiro 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 Quatro de Fevereiro 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 covers an area of 1,360 acres which contains one runway with an 11,802 x 150 ft asphalt and concrete pavement.
• EPA investigations have been completed at multiple areas of contamination including landfills, discharge areas, chemical disposal areas, fire training areas, fuel spill areas, and polychlorinated biphenyl spill areas.
• 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.
• The airport is located at the former Castle Air Force Base which closed in 1995.
• The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of 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.

Facts about Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport (LAD):

• On 27 June 2009, a British Airways Boeing 777-200ER G-RAES was damaged, while it was parked, by a collision with a Hainan Airlines Airbus A340-600 B-6510.
• The closest airport to Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport (LAD) is Ambriz Airport (AZZ), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) N of LAD.
• Because of Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport's relatively low elevation of 243 feet, planes can take off or land at Quatro de Fevereiro 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.
• In addition to being known as "Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport", other names for LAD include "Aeroporto 4 de Fevereiro (Belas) (Luanda)" and "Aeroporto Internacional 4 de Fevereiro".
• In the near future, the airport will be replaced by the new Angola International Airport.
• The furthest airport from Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport (LAD) is Johnston Atoll Airport (JON), which is located 11,862 miles (19,090 kilometers) away in Johnston Atoll, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.
• Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport handled 2,430,794 passengers last year.
• In 2009, about 1.8 million passengers were counted.
• Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport (LAD) has 2 runways.