Nonstop flight route between Mogadishu, Somalia and Atwater, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Aden Adde International Airport (MGQ), Mogadishu, Somalia and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,568 miles (or 15,399 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 Aden Adde International Airport and Castle 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 Aden Adde International Airport and Castle 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 Aden Adde International Airport (MGQ):

• The closest airport to Aden Adde International Airport (MGQ) is Baidoa Airport (BIB), which is located 138 miles (223 kilometers) WNW of MGQ.
• On 8 June 2007, the Transitional Federal Government announced that the airport would be renamed in honor of the first President of Somalia, Aden Abdullah Osman Daar, who had died earlier in the day.
• Originally a modest-sized airport, the facility grew considerably in size in the post-independence period after numerous successive renovation projects.
• The following year, due to security risks brought on by the resumption of fighting in the wake of the Ethiopian intervention, most civilian aircraft opted to land and depart from K50 Airport, situated about 50 km from Mogadishu in Lower Shabelle.
• In September 2013, the Turkish company Favori LLC began operations at the airport.
• Aden Adde International Airport (MGQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In the 1980s, the Somali federal government recruited the U.S.
• The furthest airport from Aden Adde International Airport (MGQ) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,824 miles (19,029 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.

Facts about Castle Airport (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.
• 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 covers an area of 1,360 acres which contains one runway with an 11,802 x 150 ft asphalt and concrete pavement.
• 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.
• It was estimated that the cost to relocate the 129 RQW to Castle, to include associated military construction costs, could be recouped in seven years.