Nonstop flight route between San Diego / El Cajon, California, United States and South Lake Tahoe, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SEE to TVL:
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- About this route
- SEE Airport Information
- TVL Airport Information
- Facts about SEE
- Facts about TVL
- Map of Nearest Airports to SEE
- List of Nearest Airports to SEE
- Map of Furthest Airports from SEE
- List of Furthest Airports from SEE
- Map of Nearest Airports to TVL
- List of Nearest Airports to TVL
- Map of Furthest Airports from TVL
- List of Furthest Airports from TVL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Gillespie Field (SEE), San Diego / El Cajon, California, United States and Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL), South Lake Tahoe, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 452 miles (or 727 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 relatively short distance between Gillespie Field and Lake Tahoe Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SEE / KSEE |
Airport Name: | Gillespie Field |
Location: | San Diego / El Cajon, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 32°49'33"N by 116°58'20"W |
Area Served: | San Diego, California |
Operator/Owner: | County of San Diego |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 388 feet (118 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from SEE |
More Information: | SEE Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | TVL / KTVL |
Airport Name: | Lake Tahoe Airport |
Location: | South Lake Tahoe, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°53'38"N by 119°59'43"W |
Operator/Owner: | The City of South Lake Tahoe |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 6264 feet (1,909 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from TVL |
More Information: | TVL Maps & Info |
Facts about Gillespie Field (SEE):
- Because of Gillespie Field's relatively low elevation of 388 feet, planes can take off or land at Gillespie Field 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.
- Gillespie Field (SEE) has 3 runways.
- The furthest airport from Gillespie Field (SEE) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,534 miles (18,562 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- In 1942 the United States Marine Corps chose a 688-acre site east of San Diego for parachute training for the newly forming Parachute battalions.
- The FAA says in 2010 Gillespie Field was the 44th busiest airport in the United States.
- In 1946 the airfield was turned over to San Diego County and became a general aviation facility.
- The closest airport to Gillespie Field (SEE) is Montgomery Field (MYF), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) W of SEE.
- Gillespie is the home of the restoration facility Gillespie Field Annex for the San Diego Air and Space Museum.
- In February 1944, the camp was commissioned as Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield Gillespie under the command of Marine Corps Air Station El Toro.
Facts about Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL):
- The furthest airport from Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,214 miles (18,048 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL) currently has only 1 runway.
- In 1999 Casino Express Airlines operating as Tahoe Air started low fare Boeing 737-200s nonstop to San Jose and Los Angeles.
- Because of Lake Tahoe Airport's high elevation of 6,264 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at TVL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make TVL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The ban on airline jets then ended, and jet flights resumed in 1983 on AirCal McDonnell Douglas MD-80s and later Boeing 737-300s.
- This high elevation airport in the Sierra Nevada just south of Lake Tahoe opened in 1959 with a 5900-ft runway.
- The closest airport to Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL) is Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ENE of TVL.