Nonstop flight route between Natori, Japan and Merced, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sendai Airport (SDJ), Natori, Japan and Merced Regional Airport (MCE), Merced, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,091 miles (or 8,194 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 Sendai Airport and Merced 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 Sendai Airport and Merced 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 Sendai Airport (SDJ):

• Sendai Airport (SDJ) has 2 runways.
• The west end of the terminal services domestic routes and the east side international routes.
• In 1957, the runway was extended to 1,200 metres and Nippon Helicopter Transport established a route from Tokyo's to Sendai.
• In 1992, Runway B was extended further to 2,500 metres and 5 years later, in 1997, a new terminal was opened.
• Because of Sendai Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Sendai 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.
• On 11 March 2011, the airport was first damaged by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and then badly flooded by the subsequent tsunami.
• The furthest airport from Sendai Airport (SDJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,588 miles (18,650 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Sendai Airport (SDJ) is Yamagata Airport (GAJ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) WNW of SDJ.
• In addition to being known as "Sendai Airport", other names for SDJ include "仙台空港" and "Sendai Kūkō".
• Because of the damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami, all scheduled service were suspended from 11 March 2011 until 13 April 2011.

Facts about Merced Regional Airport (MCE):

• Merced Regional Airport covers 766 acres at an elevation of 155 feet above mean sea level.
• The closest airport to Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Castle Airport (MER), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) NNW of MCE.
• In addition to being known as "Merced Regional Airport", another name for MCE is "MacReady Field".
• Merced Regional Airport (MCE) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 1943 New Merced Municipal Airport was leased to the U.S.
• Because of Merced Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 155 feet, planes can take off or land at Merced Regional 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 1946 United Airlines built offices and a terminal building and began one Douglas DC-3 flight each way a day.
• The airport was formerly served by Air Pacific, American Eagle, Golden Gate Airlines, United Airlines, United Express and US Airways Express.
• The furthest airport from Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,314 miles (18,209 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.