Nonstop flight route between Santa Ana, California, United States and Emmen, Lucerne, Switzerland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between John Wayne Airport (SNA), Santa Ana, California, United States and Emmen Swiss Air Base (EML), Emmen, Lucerne, Switzerland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,934 miles (or 9,550 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 John Wayne Airport and Emmen Swiss Air Base, 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 John Wayne Airport and Emmen Swiss Air Base. 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 John Wayne Airport (SNA):

• Martin and James Irvine made a deal for a five-year lease on 80 acres for $35 a month and founded a flying school on land owned by the Irvine Company.
• Terminals A and B were designed by Gensler & Associates, Leason Pomeroy Associates, and Thompson Consultants International.
• Nonstop flights reached Salt Lake City in 1976–77, Denver in 1982, Dallas-Fort Worth in 1983, Chicago in 1986, and New York Kennedy in 1991.
• In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a new, larger airport was proposed for the nearby site of the then recently closed El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.
• The closest airport to John Wayne Airport (SNA) is MCAS El Toro (NZJ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) E of SNA.
• A statue of the airport's namesake welcomes passengers in the arrivals area on the lower level.
• John Wayne Airport (SNA) has 2 runways.
• Because of John Wayne Airport's relatively low elevation of 56 feet, planes can take off or land at John Wayne 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.
• The furthest airport from John Wayne Airport (SNA) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,490 miles (18,491 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.

Facts about Emmen Swiss Air Base (EML):

• The closest airport to Emmen Swiss Air Base (EML) is Zurich Airport (ZRH), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) NNE of EML.
• The furthest airport from Emmen Swiss Air Base (EML) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Emmen Swiss Air Base (meaning Emmen Swiss Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,113 miles (19,495 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Emmen Swiss Air Base", another name for EML is "Flugplatzkommando Emmen".