Nonstop flight route between Santa Ana, California, United States and Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States and Belfast International Airport (BFS), Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,112 miles (or 8,228 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 MCAS El Toro and Belfast 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 MCAS El Toro and Belfast 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 MCAS El Toro (NZJ):

• In May 1942, Lieutenant Colonel William Fox was directed to select the sites for all of the Marine Corps' West Coast air stations.
• The closing of MCAS El Toro ignited a political firestorm over the eventual fate of the facility.
• The closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of NZJ.
• MCAS El Toro (NZJ) has 5 runways.
• The furthest airport from MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,486 miles (18,486 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Because of MCAS El Toro's relatively low elevation of 383 feet, planes can take off or land at MCAS El Toro 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 land originally surrounding the base was mostly at agricultural use when it first opened, but it the late 1980s and early 1990s, residential development started to begin in the area.
• Before the site could be developed for civilian use, the Department of the Navy was required to perform environmental remediation to clean up contaminated soil on the site.
• In 1950, El Toro was selected as a permanent Master Jet Station for the Fleet Marine Forces, Pacific.

Facts about Belfast International Airport (BFS):

• Around 4 million passengers travelled through the airport in 2013, a 6.7% decrease on 2012.
• In December 2007 Aer Lingus opened a base at Belfast International, its third hub.
• Because of Belfast International Airport's relatively low elevation of 268 feet, planes can take off or land at Belfast 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.
• The closest airport to Belfast International Airport (BFS) is George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) E of BFS.
• In July 2011 easyJet announced its fourth London destination to London Southend.
• Belfast International Airport handled 4,023,336 passengers last year.
• The airport was privatised in 1994.
• In 1998 EasyJet started operations from the airport with flights to London Luton.
• Belfast International Airport is a major airport located 11.5 NM northwest of Belfast in Northern Ireland.
• In addition to being known as "Belfast International Airport", another name for BFS is "Belfast/Aldergrove Airport".
• One of the outcomes of the wartime airfield construction programme was the building of Nutts Corner Airport, just 3 mi from Aldergrove.
• Belfast International Airport (BFS) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Belfast International Airport (BFS) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,847 miles (19,065 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.