Nonstop flight route between Pinellas County, Florida (near St. Petersburg and Clearwater), United States and Arcachon, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE), Pinellas County, Florida (near St. Petersburg and Clearwater), United States and La Teste-de-Buch Airport (XAC), Arcachon, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,499 miles (or 7,240 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 St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport and La Teste-de-Buch 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 St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport and La Teste-de-Buch 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 St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE):

• St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) has 4 runways.
• Because of St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at St. Pete–Clearwater 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 furthest airport from St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,426 miles (18,388 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport uses "Tampa Bay The Easy Way" as an advertising slogan and Fly2PIE in reference to its three-letter IATA and FAA codes.
• Also, the airport recently completed a US$22 million renovation, including, among other things, expanding the gate sizes, new plumbing, and building loading bridges, as the current system requires all passengers to walk across the tarmac to the gate.
• The 304th Fighter Squadron, a combat training unit of the 337th Fighter Group based P-40 Warhawks and, later, P-51 Mustangs at Pinellas Army Airfield for the duration of World War II.
• The closest airport to St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) is Clearwater Air Park (CLW), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NW of PIE.
• To commemorate the airport's vital role during that conflict, a plaque was dedicated at the airport terminal in 1994 by the P-51 Fighter Pilots Association and Brigadier General James H.

Facts about La Teste-de-Buch Airport (XAC):

• The furthest airport from La Teste-de-Buch Airport (XAC) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to La Teste-de-Buch Airport (meaning La Teste-de-Buch Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,200 miles (19,634 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• La Teste-de-Buch Airport (XAC) has 2 runways.
• Because of La Teste-de-Buch Airport's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at La Teste-de-Buch 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.
• In addition to being known as "La Teste-de-Buch Airport", another name for XAC is "Aéroport d'Arcachon - La Teste-de-Buch".
• The closest airport to La Teste-de-Buch Airport (XAC) is Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) NE of XAC.