Nonstop flight route between Seoul, South Korea and Mountain View, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gimpo International Airport (SEL), Seoul, South Korea and Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,650 miles (or 9,093 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 Gimpo International Airport and Moffett Federal Airfield, 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 Gimpo International Airport and Moffett Federal Airfield. 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 Gimpo International Airport (SEL):

• On 21 September 1953 North Korean pilot No Kum-Sok defected in his MiG-15 landing at Kimpo.
• In addition to being known as "Gimpo International Airport", other names for SEL include "김포국제공항 金浦國際空港", "Gimpo Gukje Gonghang Kimp'o Kukche Konghang", "GMP" and "RKSS".
• The furthest airport from Gimpo International Airport (SEL) is Villa Gesell Airport (VLG), which is nearly antipodal to Gimpo International Airport (meaning Gimpo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Villa Gesell Airport), and is located 12,226 miles (19,676 kilometers) away in Villa Gesell, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• Following the Chinese Third Phase Campaign and the defeat of UN Forces at the 38th parallel, on 5 January 1951 General Ridgway ordered the evacuation of Seoul and the withdrawal of UN forces to a new defensive line along the 37th parallel.
• Gimpo International Airport handled 19,424,032 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Gimpo International Airport (SEL) is Gimpo International Airport (GMP), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of SEL.
• The airport is located south of the Han River in western Seoul.
• The airfield was originally constructed in 1939–1942 during the Japanese Imperial period.
• Gimpo International Airport (SEL) has 2 runways.
• On 29 November 2003, scheduled services between Gimpo and Tokyo International Airport in Tokyo, Japan began.
• Because of Gimpo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 58 feet, planes can take off or land at Gimpo 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.

Facts about Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ):

• The closest airport to Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of NUQ.
• In 2006, an offer to clean the hangar and coat its outsides with solar panels to recoup the costs of cleaning was floated by a private company, but the plan never saw fruition because it was too costly.
• Upon taking jurisdiction of Moffett Field, the Army took on the high cost of Hangar One's maintenance and wanted to inactivate the facility.
• The adjacent NASA Ames Research Center is also home to several wind tunnels, including the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel, and the National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex.
• Moffett Federal Airfield has occasional air traffic, with an average of 5-10 flights landing per day.
• Because of Moffett Federal Airfield's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Moffett Federal Airfield 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.
• Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) has 2 runways.
• The Hangars One, Two, and Three, and the adjacent Shenandoah Plaza are collectively designated as a National Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• The furthest airport from Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.