Nonstop flight route between Mountain View, California, United States and Niuafo'ou, Tonga:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from NUQ to NFO:
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- About this route
- NUQ Airport Information
- NFO Airport Information
- Facts about NUQ
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- Map of Nearest Airports to NUQ
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- Map of Furthest Airports from NUQ
- List of Furthest Airports from NUQ
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- List of Nearest Airports to NFO
- Map of Furthest Airports from NFO
- List of Furthest Airports from NFO
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States and Mata'aho Airport (NFO), Niuafo'ou, Tonga would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,049 miles (or 8,126 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 Mata'aho 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 Mata'aho 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: | NFO / NFTO |
Airport Name: | Mata'aho Airport |
Location: | Niuafo'ou, Tonga |
GPS Coordinates: | 15°34'15"S by 175°37'50"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Civil Aviation |
Airport Type: | Public |
View all routes: | Routes from NFO |
More Information: | NFO Maps & Info |
Facts about Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ):
- The airship hangar's interior is so large that fog sometimes forms near the ceiling.
- Moffett Field's Hangars Two and Three were built at the beginning of WWII for a program of coastal defense.
- In 1931, the city of Sunnyvale acquired a 1,000 acres parcel of farmland bordering San Francisco Bay, paid for with nearly $480,000 raised by the citizens of Santa Clara County, then "sold" the parcel for $1 to the US government as a home base for the Navy airship USS Macon.
- 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 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.
- Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) has 2 runways.
- By far the most famous and visible sites are Hangars #1, #2, and #3, which dwarf the surrounding buildings.
- 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.
- The Hangars One, Two, and Three, and the adjacent Shenandoah Plaza are collectively designated as a National Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 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.
Facts about Mata'aho Airport (NFO):
- The closest airport to Mata'aho Airport (NFO) is Wallis Island (WLS), which is located 164 miles (263 kilometers) NNW of NFO.
- The furthest airport from Mata'aho Airport (NFO) is Tahoua Airport (THZ), which is nearly antipodal to Mata'aho Airport (meaning Mata'aho Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tahoua Airport), and is located 12,360 miles (19,892 kilometers) away in Tahoua, Niger.