Nonstop flight route between Palo Alto, California, United States and Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO), Palo Alto, California, United States and Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK), Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,039 miles (or 8,109 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 Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County and Glasgow-Prestwick 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 Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County and Glasgow-Prestwick 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 Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO):

• Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County is a general aviation airport in the city of Palo Alto in Santa Clara County, California, USA, near the south end of San Francisco Bay on the western shore.
• The furthest airport from Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,289 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The VOR approach is almost impossible to get from Air Traffic Control if the aircraft is GPS-equipped, because of the conflict with airline traffic in San Jose International Airport.
• Because of Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County's relatively low elevation of 4 feet, planes can take off or land at Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County 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 Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO) is Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of PAO.
• Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK):

• The closest airport to Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) is Glasgow International Airport (GLA), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) NNE of PIK.
• Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) has 2 runways.
• An Airbus A380 made an approach and go round at Prestwick Airport for the first time on 5 September 2009.
• After British Airways had ceased regular passenger operations in 1983, BA continued to intermittently use Prestwick as a site for pilot training, especially for training Concorde pilots.
• Scottish Aviation built a factory using the original terminal building and hangars at Prestwick, which from 1974 produced such aircraft as the Prestwick Pioneers, and later the Jetstream and Bulldog.
• Glasgow-Prestwick Airport handled 1,145,836 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,764 miles (18,932 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Because of Glasgow-Prestwick Airport's relatively low elevation of 65 feet, planes can take off or land at Glasgow-Prestwick 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 airport was owned by Infratil, a New Zealand company and majority owner of Wellington International Airport Infratil also owned Manston Airport until November 2013.
• Today BAE Systems retains a small facility at Prestwick for its BAE Systems Regional Aircraft division, with the adjoining main manufacturing site, producing components for Airbus and Boeing aircraft, having been sold to Spirit AeroSystems in January 2006.
• On 6 July 2005, Prestwick Airport became the entry point for the participants in the 31st G8 summit held in Gleneagles.
• The airport began life around 1934 — primarily as a training airfield — with a hangar, offices and control tower were constructed by the end of 1935.
• There had been proposed plans drawn up pre-war for the post war years which would have been classed as extremely ambitious, especially in the austere post-war years.
• In physical terms, Prestwick is Scotland's largest commercial airfield, although in passenger traffic terms it sits in fourth place after Edinburgh Airport, Glasgow International, and Aberdeen Airport.