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

Arrival Airport:

Distance from TVL to SDM:
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- About this route
- TVL Airport Information
- SDM Airport Information
- Facts about TVL
- Facts about SDM
- Map of Nearest Airports to TVL
- List of Nearest Airports to TVL
- Map of Furthest Airports from TVL
- List of Furthest Airports from TVL
- Map of Nearest Airports to SDM
- List of Nearest Airports to SDM
- Map of Furthest Airports from SDM
- List of Furthest Airports from SDM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL), South Lake Tahoe, California, United States and Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM), San Diego, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 468 miles (or 754 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 Lake Tahoe Airport and Brown Field Municipal Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SDM / KSDM |
Airport Name: | Brown Field Municipal Airport |
Location: | San Diego, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 32°34'19"N by 116°58'49"W |
Area Served: | San Diego, California |
Operator/Owner: | City of San Diego |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 526 feet (160 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from SDM |
More Information: | SDM Maps & Info |
Facts about Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL):
- Holiday Airlines Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprops served Lake Tahoe in the 1960s and early 1970s, followed by Pacific Southwest Airlines and Air California Electras.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL) is Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ENE of TVL.
- Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL) currently has only 1 runway.
- The ban on airline jets then ended, and jet flights resumed in 1983 on AirCal McDonnell Douglas MD-80s and later Boeing 737-300s.
- 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.
Facts about Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM):
- Because of Brown Field Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 526 feet, planes can take off or land at Brown Field Municipal 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.
- Tijuana Airport, an airline airport, is just over 1 nmi to the south across the Mexico-United States border, with a similar length and a slightly different runway orientation.
- In 1951 the Navy reopened Brown Field due to increased military activity from the Korean War.
- A precision approach is not possible to either runway end due to rising terrain less than six miles east of the airport.
- The closest airport to Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM) is Tijuana International Airport (TIJ), which is located only 2 miles (4 kilometers) SSE of SDM.
- The furthest airport from Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,551 miles (18,590 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM) has 2 runways.