Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ), Punta Cana, Dominican Republic would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,392 miles (or 5,459 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 Punta Cana 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 Punta Cana 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):

• 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 closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ):

• Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) has 2 runways.
• Punta Cana International Airport is a privately owned commercial airport in Punta Cana, eastern Dominican Republic.
• The furthest airport from Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Punta Cana International Airport (meaning Punta Cana International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,145 miles (19,546 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
• Punta Cana's airport is the leading point of entry in number of arriving passengers in the Dominican Republic.
• Because of Punta Cana International Airport's relatively low elevation of 40 feet, planes can take off or land at Punta Cana 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 closest airport to Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) is La Romana International Airport (LRM), which is located 37 miles (60 kilometers) WSW of PUJ.
• In addition to being known as "Punta Cana International Airport", another name for PUJ is "Aeropuerto Internacional Punta Cana".
• Punta Cana International Airport handled 5,163,426 passengers last year.