Nonstop flight route between Mountain View, California, United States and Canton Island, Kiribati:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from NUQ to CIS:
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- About this route
- NUQ Airport Information
- CIS Airport Information
- Facts about NUQ
- Facts about CIS
- Map of Nearest Airports to NUQ
- List of Nearest Airports to NUQ
- Map of Furthest Airports from NUQ
- List of Furthest Airports from NUQ
- Map of Nearest Airports to CIS
- List of Nearest Airports to CIS
- Map of Furthest Airports from CIS
- List of Furthest Airports from CIS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States and Canton Island Airport (CIS), Canton Island, Kiribati would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,217 miles (or 6,787 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 Moffett Federal Airfield and Canton Island 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 Moffett Federal Airfield and Canton Island Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | NUQ / KNUQ |
Airport Name: | Moffett Federal Airfield |
Location: | Mountain View, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°24'53"N by 122°2'53"W |
Operator/Owner: | NASA Ames Research Center |
Airport Type: | Private |
Elevation: | 32 feet (10 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from NUQ |
More Information: | NUQ Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | CIS / PCIS |
Airport Name: | Canton Island Airport |
Location: | Canton Island, Kiribati |
GPS Coordinates: | 2°46'9"S by 171°42'19"W |
Elevation: | 9 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CIS |
More Information: | CIS Maps & Info |
Facts about Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ):
- At its peak in the 1990s, NAS Moffett Field was the U.S.
- Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of NUQ.
- Because of Moffett Federal Airfield's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Moffett Federal Airfield 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.
- After the crashing of the Macon on 12 February 1935, the Navy wanted to close Moffett Field due to its high cost of operations.
- In August 1986 during the NAS Moffett Field Airshow, the Italian demonstration team, Frecce Tricolori, and the German Navy's F-104 flight demonstration team, the Vikings, performed in front of the crowd.
- The furthest airport from Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- Moffett Field's Hangars Two and Three were built at the beginning of WWII for a program of coastal defense.
- As an aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Navy wanted to use the airship hangars at Moffett for blimp operations along with Pacific Coast.
- The US Navy is evaluating options for remediating the PCBs, lead and asbestos, and NASA is evaluating options for reuse of the hangar.
Facts about Canton Island Airport (CIS):
- Though Kanton Island was never physically invaded by Japanese forces, the airfield was bombarded on 1 November 1943 by the Japanese submarine I-36.
- The furthest airport from Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Malabo International Airport (SSG), which is nearly antipodal to Canton Island Airport (meaning Canton Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Malabo International Airport), and is located 12,363 miles (19,896 kilometers) away in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
- The closest airport to Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is located 741 miles (1,193 kilometers) WSW of CIS.
- Canton Island Airport (CIS) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Canton Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Canton Island 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 political status of the island was uncertain at first, with American and British settlers occupying two separate camps on the island.