Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Patna, India:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Patna Airport (PAT), Patna, India would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,777 miles (or 12,517 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 Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Patna 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 Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Patna 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):

• 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.
• Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is located at the former Castle Air Force Base which closed in 1995.
• 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.
• In 2004, recommendations were made to relocate the 129th Rescue Wing of the California Air National Guard and its associated HC-130, MC-130 and HH-60 aircraft from Moffett Federal Airfield to the former Castle Air Force Base, now Castle Airport.
• Castle Airport is a public use airport located seven nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Merced, a city in Merced County, California, United States.
• 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.
• 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 Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Patna Airport (PAT):

• The closest airport to Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Patna Airport (PAT) is Muzaffarpur Airport (MZU), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) NNE of PAT.
• Because of Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Patna Airport's relatively low elevation of 170 feet, planes can take off or land at Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Patna 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.
• On 17 July 2000, Alliance Air Flight 7412 crashed near the airport, killing 60 people.
• In addition to being known as "Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Patna Airport", another name for PAT is "जय प्रकाश नारायण हवाई अड्डे".
• Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Patna Airport (PAT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Patna Airport (PAT) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,532 miles (18,560 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.