Nonstop flight route between Mountain View, California, United States and Nairobi, Kenya:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from NUQ to WIL:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- NUQ Airport Information
- WIL Airport Information
- Facts about NUQ
- Facts about WIL
- 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 WIL
- List of Nearest Airports to WIL
- Map of Furthest Airports from WIL
- List of Furthest Airports from WIL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States and Wilson Airport (WIL), Nairobi, Kenya would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,603 miles (or 15,455 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 Wilson 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 Wilson 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: | WIL / HKNW |
Airport Name: | Wilson Airport |
Location: | Nairobi, Kenya |
GPS Coordinates: | 1°19'12"S by 36°48'53"E |
Area Served: | Nairobi |
Operator/Owner: | Kenya Airports Authority |
Airport Type: | Public, Civilian |
Elevation: | 5546 feet (1,690 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from WIL |
More Information: | WIL Maps & Info |
Facts about Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ):
- A spirited debate is underway over the future of Hangar One.
- Moffett Federal Airfield has occasional air traffic, with an average of 5-10 flights landing per day.
- Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) has 2 runways.
- The adjacent NASA Ames Research Center is also home to several wind tunnels, including the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel, and the National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex.
- 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 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.
- The US Navy is evaluating options for remediating the PCBs, lead and asbestos, and NASA is evaluating options for reuse of the hangar.
- 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.
- 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.
- In April 2011, the exterior panels began coming down, starting at the top.
Facts about Wilson Airport (WIL):
- The furthest airport from Wilson Airport (WIL) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,619 miles (18,698 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
- The closest airport to Wilson Airport (WIL) is Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) E of WIL.
- Wilson Airport (WIL) has 2 runways.
- Airkenya and other small airlines use Wilson Airport for scheduled domestic passenger services, instead of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
- Because of Wilson Airport's high elevation of 5,546 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at WIL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make WIL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.