Nonstop flight route between Santa Ana, California, United States and Lyon, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States and Lyon–Bron Airport (LYN), Lyon, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,888 miles (or 9,475 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 Lyon–Bron 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 Lyon–Bron 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):

• The closing of MCAS El Toro ignited a political firestorm over the eventual fate of the facility.
• The battle between pro-airport and anti-airport groups dominated Orange County politics for much of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
• Over the years, the VOCs had seeped into the groundwater, resulting in a plume of contaminated groundwater extending for three miles to the west of the station.
• Already the largest Marine air station on the West Coast, in 1944, funds were approved to double its size and operations.
• In May 1942, Lieutenant Colonel William Fox was directed to select the sites for all of the Marine Corps' West Coast air stations.
• This faction lobbied strongly in favor of other uses for the property.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1993, MCAS El Toro was designated for closing by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission and all of its activities were to be transferred to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

Facts about Lyon–Bron Airport (LYN):

• In 1975 commercial airline traffic was moved to the new Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport, and Bron Airport is now used for general aviation.
• The airport was established in 1920 and became an international airport in 1924 with flights to Geneva, Switzerland.
• It was used as a military airfield beginning in 1943 by the German Luftwaffe, being used as a RADAR station by Nachtjagdraumführer 109 to detect Royal Air Force bombers flying over Occupied France at night to targets in Italy.
• In addition to being known as "Lyon–Bron Airport", another name for LYN is "Aéroport de Lyon-BronAdvanced Landing Ground (ALG) Y-6".
• The closest airport to Lyon–Bron Airport (LYN) is Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport (LYS), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) E of LYN.
• Lyon–Bron Airport (LYN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Lyon–Bron Airport's relatively low elevation of 659 feet, planes can take off or land at Lyon–Bron 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 furthest airport from Lyon–Bron Airport (LYN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Lyon–Bron Airport (meaning Lyon–Bron Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,288 miles (19,775 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.