Nonstop flight route between Lompoc, California, United States and Athens, Greece:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States and Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH), Athens, Greece would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,925 miles (or 11,144 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 Vandenberg Air Force Base and Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos", 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 Vandenberg Air Force Base and Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos". 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 Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG):

• With the establishment of a separate Air Force in September 1947, Vandenberg became its first vice chief of staff under General Carl Spaatz, and succeeded him on 30 April 1948.
• Although the construction of Camp Cooke continued well into 1942, troop training did not wait.
• The closest airport to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) is Lompoc Airport (LPC), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SE of VBG.
• In addition to being known as "Vandenberg Air Force Base", another name for VBG is "Vandenberg AFB".
• The furthest airport from Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,479 miles (18,473 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• 1st Air and Space Test Squadron
• 21st Space Operations Squadron

Facts about Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH):

• Because of Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos"'s relatively low elevation of 308 feet, planes can take off or land at Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" 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.
• Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" handled 12,536,038 passengers last year.
• Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH) has 2 runways.
• Travel to and from the airport requires a special ticket, priced at 8 euros.
• Four bus lines connect directly to the Athens greater area, the intercity bus stations and Piraeus.
• In addition to being known as "Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos"", another name for ATH is "Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Αθηνών "Ελευθέριος Βενιζέλος"".
• The furthest airport from Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,330 miles (18,234 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH) is Porto Kheli Airport (PKH), which is located 62 miles (100 kilometers) SW of ATH.
• The Greek government-debt crisis reduced the overall passenger traffic of the airport.
• Athens International Airport is the busiest airport in Greece, and in 2013 was the 35th busiest airport in Europe, handling around 12.5 million passengers.