Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Gran Canaria Airport (LPA), Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,820 miles (or 9,366 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 Gran Canaria 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 Gran Canaria 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.
• 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.
• With its central location in the San Joaquin Valley, on the route of the proposed California High-Speed Rail system, and with a large, underdeveloped site, Castle Airport has been submitted as a possible location for the central maintenance facility for the system.
• 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 covers an area of 1,360 acres which contains one runway with an 11,802 x 150 ft asphalt and concrete pavement.

Facts about Gran Canaria Airport (LPA):

• In 1963, improvements to the airport were made.
• The closest airport to Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) is Tenerife North Airport (TFN), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) WNW of LPA.
• Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) has 2 runways.
• Gran Canaria Airport handled 9,770,253 passengers last year.
• In October 1991, the terminal was enlarged with improved facilities so it could handle more passengers.
• Because of Gran Canaria Airport's relatively low elevation of 78 feet, planes can take off or land at Gran Canaria 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 Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) is Norfolk Island Airport (NLK), which is nearly antipodal to Gran Canaria Airport (meaning Gran Canaria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Norfolk Island Airport), and is located 12,221 miles (19,667 kilometers) away in Norfolk Island, Australia.
• There is an airbase of the Spanish Air Force to the east of the runways.
• In 1946, the old passenger terminal opened, which took two years to build.
• In addition to being known as "Gran Canaria Airport", another name for LPA is "Aeropuerto de Gran Canaria".