Nonstop flight route between Port Hedland, Western Australia, Australia and Santa Ana, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Port Hedland International Airport (PHE), Port Hedland, Western Australia, Australia and MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,892 miles (or 14,311 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 Port Hedland International Airport and MCAS El Toro, 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 Port Hedland International Airport and MCAS El Toro. 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 Port Hedland International Airport (PHE):

• Port Hedland International Airport handled 367,690 passengers last year.
• Port Hedland International Airport (PHE) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Port Hedland International Airport (PHE) is Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport (AXA), which is nearly antipodal to Port Hedland International Airport (meaning Port Hedland International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport), and is located 12,251 miles (19,716 kilometers) away in The Valley, Anguilla.
• The closest airport to Port Hedland International Airport (PHE) is Coolawanyah Station Airport (COY), which is located 113 miles (181 kilometers) SSW of PHE.
• Port Hedland International Airport was ranked 21st in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2010-2011.
• Because of Port Hedland International Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Hedland 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.

Facts about MCAS El Toro (NZJ):

• The battle between pro-airport and anti-airport groups dominated Orange County politics for much of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
• Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the 4,682 acres home of Marine Corps aviation on the West Coast.
• Already the largest Marine air station on the West Coast, in 1944, funds were approved to double its size and operations.
• 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 closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of NZJ.
• The closing of MCAS El Toro ignited a political firestorm over the eventual fate of the facility.
• 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.