Nonstop flight route between Shafter, California, United States and Madrid, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shafter Airport (MIT), Shafter, California, United States and Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD), Madrid, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,786 miles (or 9,311 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 Shafter Airport and Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1], 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 Shafter Airport and Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1]. 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 Shafter Airport (MIT):

• In addition to being known as "Shafter Airport", another name for MIT is "Minter Field".
• The closest airport to Shafter Airport (MIT) is Meadows Field (BFL), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) ESE of MIT.
• The furthest airport from Shafter Airport (MIT) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,404 miles (18,353 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The primary aircraft flown at Minter Field was the Vultee BT-13 Valiant, which was used for basic flight training.
• Shafter Airport (MIT) has 2 runways.
• Because of Shafter Airport's relatively low elevation of 424 feet, planes can take off or land at Shafter 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 Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD):

• Barajas was voted "Best Airport" in the 2008 Condé Nast Traveller Reader Awards.
• In addition to being known as "Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1]", another name for MAD is "Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas".
• In November 1998, the new runway 18R-36L started operations, 4,400 m long, one of the largest in Europe under expansion plans called Major Barajas.
• In the 1970s, with the boom in tourism and the arrival of the Boeing 747, the airport reached 4 million passengers, and began the construction of the international terminal.
• The furthest airport from Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD) is Palmerston North Airport (PMR), which is nearly antipodal to Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (meaning Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Palmerston North Airport), and is located 12,392 miles (19,943 kilometers) away in Palmerston North, New Zealand.
• During the construction of Terminal 4, two more runways were constructed to aid in the flow of air traffic arriving and departing from Barajas.
• In December 2010, the Spanish government announced plans to tender Madrid-Barajas airport to companies in the private sector for a period of up to 40 years.
• The closest airport to Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD) is Madrid–Torrejón Airport (TOJ), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) ENE of MAD.
• Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD) has 4 runways.
• The Nuevos Ministerios metro station allowed checking-in right by the AZCA business area in central Madrid, but this convenience has been suspended indefinitely after the building of Terminal 4.
• Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] handled 39,729,027 passengers last year.