Nonstop flight route between Mountain View, California, United States and Sal Island, Cape Verde:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States and Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID), Sal Island, Cape Verde would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,002 miles (or 9,659 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 Amílcar Cabral 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 Moffett Federal Airfield and Amílcar Cabral 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 Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ):

• Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• On 1 July 1994, NAS Moffett Field was closed as a naval air station and turned over to the NASA Ames Research Center.
• 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.
• A spirited debate is underway over the future of Hangar One.
• In 2006, an offer to clean the hangar and coat its outsides with solar panels to recoup the costs of cleaning was floated by a private company, but the plan never saw fruition because it was too costly.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID):

• In addition to being known as "Amílcar Cabral International Airport", another name for SID is "Aeroporto Internacional Amílcar Cabral".
• The closest airport to Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID) is Aristides Pereira International Airport (BVC), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) S of SID.
• In 1985, TACV began service to Boston, Massachusetts, using a LAM DC10.
• Strangely, the duty-free shop is located after passport control but before security scanning, which only takes place as you enter the boarding lounge, which is shared for all four departure gates.
• The furthest airport from Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID) is Bellona/Anua Airport (BNY), which is nearly antipodal to Amílcar Cabral International Airport (meaning Amílcar Cabral International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Bellona/Anua Airport), and is located 12,018 miles (19,341 kilometers) away in Anua, Bellona Island, Solomon Islands.
• Amílcar Cabral International Airport handled 576 passengers last year.
• Because of Amílcar Cabral International Airport's relatively low elevation of 177 feet, planes can take off or land at Amílcar Cabral 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.
• Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID) has 2 runways.
• Amílcar Cabral International Airport, also known as Sal International Airport or Amílcar Cabral Airport, is the principal international airport of Cape Verde.
• The airport's main runway is 3,272m and is the longest in Cape Verde.
• In 1967, Sal was used again as a refueling stop, this time by South African Airways, for flights to and from Europe, since SAA was denied landing rights by most African countries due to the international boycott of apartheid.
• The first airport on Sal Island was built in 1939 by Italy, as a fuel and provisions stopping-point on routes from Rome to South America.