Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Stavanger, Norway:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Stavanger-Sola International Airport (SVG), Stavanger, Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,107 miles (or 8,219 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 Stavanger-Sola 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 Stavanger-Sola 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 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.
• Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
• It serves one school, Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, which specializes in training foreign pilots, from the People's Republic of China.
• 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 Air Museum is 500 yards away, displaying over 50 restored World War II, Korean War, and Cold War era aircraft.
• 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.
• The airport is located at the former Castle Air Force Base which closed in 1995.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.

Facts about Stavanger-Sola International Airport (SVG):

• The Norwegian authorities have denied, among others, Northwest Airlines the right to start flying intercontinental flights from the United States.
• The closest airport to Stavanger-Sola International Airport (SVG) is Haugesund Airport, Karmøy (HAU), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) NNW of SVG.
• Stavanger Airport has two passenger terminals, one for airplanes and one for helicopters.
• In addition to being known as "Stavanger-Sola International Airport", another name for SVG is "Stavanger lufthavn, Sola".
• The furthest airport from Stavanger-Sola International Airport (SVG) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,392 miles (18,334 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• On June 16, 2006 the board of SAS decided to close the SAS owned Braathens Technical Services at Sola, which resulted in over 300 job losses.
• The armed forces have a number of functions located at the airport.
• Because of Stavanger-Sola International Airport's relatively low elevation of 29 feet, planes can take off or land at Stavanger-Sola 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.
• Stavanger-Sola International Airport (SVG) has 2 runways.
• On 15 February 2010, Scandinavian Airlines announced that Widerøe would take over their regional routes connecting airports in Western Norway, including the route from Stavanger to Kristiansand.
• Stavanger-Sola International Airport handled 4,119,348 passengers last year.
• Originally, the idea was to locate the Stavanger airport at Forus, but after the war the Royal Norwegian Air Force decided to use Sola temporarily until the new airport was built, and nothing ever became of Forus.