Nonstop flight route between Upington, South Africa and Merced, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Upington Airport (UTN), Upington, South Africa and Merced Regional Airport (MCE), Merced, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,151 miles (or 16,337 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 Upington Airport and Merced Regional 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 Upington Airport and Merced Regional 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 Upington Airport (UTN):

• The closest airport to Upington Airport (UTN) is Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH), which is located 147 miles (236 kilometers) ENE of UTN.
• Private charter flights are provided by Walker Flying Services who operates Cessna 210 and Cessna 402 aircraft.
• Upington Airport (UTN) has 3 runways.
• With the fall of the Portuguese regime in Angola, South African Airways lost its landing rights in Luanda.
• The furthest airport from Upington Airport (UTN) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is nearly antipodal to Upington Airport (meaning Upington Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Princeville Airport), and is located 12,007 miles (19,323 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
• Planning is also under way at Upington Airport to construct a facility for the long-term parking of mothballed aircraft.
• Many major car manufacturers bring their cars and commercial vehicles to Upington to test them in the hot dry and sunny conditions.
• From August 1976 to December 1996, South African Airways made use of Upington as a refuelling station for two weekly scheduled Boeing 747 flights to London and Zurich.

Facts about Merced Regional Airport (MCE):

• On March 6, 2009 the city council voted to change the name from Merced Municipal Airport to Merced Regional Airport.
• Merced Regional Airport covers 766 acres at an elevation of 155 feet above mean sea level.
• During the 1950s the airport was used to service United States Armed Forces aircraft, and a land acquisition in February 1955 allowed runway 12/30 to be extended.
• Because of Merced Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 155 feet, planes can take off or land at Merced Regional 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 Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,314 miles (18,209 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Castle Airport (MER), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) NNW of MCE.
• In addition to being known as "Merced Regional Airport", another name for MCE is "MacReady Field".
• Merced Regional Airport (MCE) currently has only 1 runway.