Nonstop flight route between Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil and Santa Ana, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport (PNZ), Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil and MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,851 miles (or 9,417 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 Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho 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 Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho 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 Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport (PNZ):

• In addition to being known as "Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport", another name for PNZ is "Aeroporto de Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho".
• The airport is located 9 km from downtown Petrolina and 15 km from downtown Juazeiro.
• Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport (PNZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport handled 473,482 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport (PNZ) is Falalop Airfield (ULI), which is nearly antipodal to Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport (meaning Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Falalop Airfield), and is located 12,385 miles (19,931 kilometers) away in Falalop Island, Yap, Federated States of Micronesia.
• The closest airport to Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport (PNZ) is Barra Airport (BQQ), which is located 209 miles (337 kilometers) SW of PNZ.

Facts about MCAS El Toro (NZJ):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the 4,682 acres home of Marine Corps aviation on the West Coast.
• The closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of NZJ.
• In 1950, El Toro was selected as a permanent Master Jet Station for the Fleet Marine Forces, Pacific.
• The closing of MCAS El Toro ignited a political firestorm over the eventual fate of the facility.