Nonstop flight route between Rota Island, Northern Mariana Islands and Palmdale, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rota International Airport (ROP), Rota Island, Northern Mariana Islands and Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD), Palmdale, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,034 miles (or 9,711 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 Rota International Airport and Palmdale Regional 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 Rota International Airport and Palmdale Regional 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 Rota International Airport (ROP):

• Because of Rota International Airport's relatively low elevation of 607 feet, planes can take off or land at Rota 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.
• Rota International Airport, also known as Benjamin Taisacan Manglona International Airport, is a public airport located on Rota Island in the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, near the village of Sinapalo.
• The closest airport to Rota International Airport (ROP) is Andersen Air Force Base (UAM), which is located 46 miles (74 kilometers) SSW of ROP.
• In addition to being known as "Rota International Airport", another name for ROP is "GRO".
• Rota International Airport covers an area of 820 acres which contains one paved runway measuring 6,000 x 150 ft.
• The furthest airport from Rota International Airport (ROP) is Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho) (SSA), which is nearly antipodal to Rota International Airport (meaning Rota International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho)), and is located 12,182 miles (19,605 kilometers) away in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
• Rota International Airport (ROP) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD):

• Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) has 3 runways.
• LAWA has used Plant 42's facilities in past years when at one point in the early 1990s several airlines used the Palmdale Regional Airport terminal sited on Plant 42.
• Both the Air Force and its aircraft contractors needed a location away from major population centers - due to sonic booms, other noises and security concerns - but close enough to the major centers of aircraft design and production, while having excellent flying weather the year around.
• The Blackbird Airpark Museum and the adjacent Palmdale Plant 42 Heritage Airpark have recently been opened on Plant 42 property along Avenue P with displays of the SR-71, U-2, Century Series fighters and other aircraft designed, engineered, manufactured, and flight tested at its facilities.
• The airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service facility based on enplanements in 2008.Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 10,392 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 82% more than the 5,712 in 2007.
• The furthest airport from Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• In January 2007 subsidies valued at $4.6 million, with $2 million slated to underwrite losses incurred from providing airline service, were raised to restore commercial service to the airport.
• The Blackbird Airpark Museum is an extension of the AFFTC Museum at Edwards AFB, while the Heritage Airpark is operated by the City of Palmdale.
• The closest airport to Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is General Wm. J. Fox Airfield (WJF), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) NW of PMD.