Nonstop flight route between Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain and Atwater, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tenerife-South Airport (TFS), Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,759 miles (or 9,268 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 Tenerife-South Airport and Castle 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 Tenerife-South Airport and Castle 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 Tenerife-South Airport (TFS):

• Because of Tenerife-South Airport's relatively low elevation of 209 feet, planes can take off or land at Tenerife-South 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 closest airport to Tenerife-South Airport (TFS) is Tenerife North Airport (TFN), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) NNE of TFS.
• In addition to being known as "Tenerife-South Airport", other names for TFS include "Aeropuerto de Tenerife Sur" and "Tenerife Sur/Reina Sofía Airport".
• The public bus service TITSA offers cheap and quick services to all parts of the island, Line 343 connects the South Airport with the North Airport
• The airport was opened by Queen Sofía on 6 November 1978.
• In the late 1960s, the island authorities of Tenerife said they needed a new airport at a new location as the existing airport did not meet technical requirements due to adverse weather conditions.
• Tenerife-South Airport handled 8,701,983 passengers last year.
• Tenerife-South Airport (TFS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Tenerife-South Airport (TFS) is Norfolk Island Airport (NLK), which is nearly antipodal to Tenerife-South Airport (meaning Tenerife-South Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Norfolk Island Airport), and is located 12,154 miles (19,561 kilometers) away in Norfolk Island, Australia.

Facts about Castle Airport (MER):

• It serves one school, Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, which specializes in training foreign pilots, from the People's Republic of China.
• The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.
• It was estimated that the cost to relocate the 129 RQW to Castle, to include associated military construction costs, could be recouped in seven years.
• With its central location in the San Joaquin Valley, on the route of the proposed California High-Speed Rail system, and with a large, underdeveloped site, Castle Airport has been submitted as a possible location for the central maintenance facility for the system.
• The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• In 2004, recommendations were made to relocate the 129th Rescue Wing of the California Air National Guard and its associated HC-130, MC-130 and HH-60 aircraft from Moffett Federal Airfield to the former Castle Air Force Base, now Castle Airport.
• Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Castle Airport's relatively low elevation of 191 feet, planes can take off or land at Castle 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.