Nonstop flight route between Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands and Palmdale, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Virgin Gorda Airport (VIJ), Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands and Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD), Palmdale, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,457 miles (or 5,563 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 Virgin Gorda Airport and Palmdale 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 Virgin Gorda Airport and Palmdale 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 Virgin Gorda Airport (VIJ):

• Because of Virgin Gorda Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Virgin Gorda 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 Virgin Gorda Airport (VIJ) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Virgin Gorda Airport (meaning Virgin Gorda Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,269 miles (19,745 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Virgin Gorda Airport (VIJ) is Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport (EIS), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) E of VIJ.
• Virgin Gorda Airport (VIJ) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD):

• PMD and Plant 42 are separate facilities that share a common runway at the site.
• In January 2007 subsidies valued at $4.6 million, with $2 million slated to underwrite losses incurred from providing airline service, were raised to restore commercial service to the airport.
• From 1970 to 1983 the Los Angeles Department of Airports, now called Los Angeles World Airports, acquired about 17,750 acres of land east and south of United States Air Force Plant 42 in unincorporated Los Angeles County to be developed into the future "Palmdale Intercontinental Airport," an alternative to LAX.
• The Federal Aviation Administration operates its Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center at its site on Plant 42 by Avenue P and 25th Street East.
• The closest airport to Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is General Wm. J. Fox Airfield (WJF), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) NW of PMD.
• Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) has 3 runways.
• LAWA has used Plant 42's facilities in past years when at one point in the early 1990s several airlines used the Palmdale Regional Airport terminal sited on Plant 42.
• The furthest airport from Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The Blackbird Airpark Museum and the adjacent Palmdale Plant 42 Heritage Airpark have recently been opened on Plant 42 property along Avenue P with displays of the SR-71, U-2, Century Series fighters and other aircraft designed, engineered, manufactured, and flight tested at its facilities.