Nonstop flight route between Mountain View, California, United States and Christmas Island, Australia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from NUQ to XCH:
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- About this route
- NUQ Airport Information
- XCH Airport Information
- Facts about NUQ
- Facts about XCH
- Map of Nearest Airports to NUQ
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- Map of Furthest Airports from NUQ
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- List of Nearest Airports to XCH
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- List of Furthest Airports from XCH
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States and Christmas Island Airport (XCH), Christmas Island, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,945 miles (or 14,395 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 Christmas 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 Christmas 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: | XCH / YPXM |
Airport Name: | Christmas Island Airport |
Location: | Christmas Island, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 10°27'2"S by 105°41'25"E |
Operator/Owner: | Toll Remote Logistics |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 916 feet (279 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from XCH |
More Information: | XCH Maps & Info |
Facts about Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ):
- In April 2011, the exterior panels began coming down, starting at the top.
- Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) has 2 runways.
- 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.
- After the crashing of the Macon on 12 February 1935, the Navy wanted to close Moffett Field due to its high cost of operations.
- 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.
- Post-Cold War defense cutbacks and related Base Realignment and Closure actions in the 1990s identified NAS Moffett Field for closure.
- 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 2008, the Ames Research Center leased 42 acres around the field to Google.
Facts about Christmas Island Airport (XCH):
- Christmas Island Airport is a quiet airport and served 27,286 revenue passengers during financial year 2010-2011.
- The airport resides at an elevation of 916 ft above sea level.
- The closest airport to Christmas Island Airport (XCH) is Cibeureum Airfield (TSY), which is located 276 miles (445 kilometers) NE of XCH.
- The furthest airport from Christmas Island Airport (XCH) is Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport (BAQ), which is nearly antipodal to Christmas Island Airport (meaning Christmas Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport), and is located 12,393 miles (19,944 kilometers) away in Barranquilla, Colombia.
- Christmas Island Airport handled 27,286 passengers last year.
- Because of Christmas Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 916 feet, planes can take off or land at Christmas 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.
- Christmas Island Airport (XCH) currently has only 1 runway.