Nonstop flight route between British Columbia, Canada and Atwater, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from YAL to MER:
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- About this route
- YAL Airport Information
- MER Airport Information
- Facts about YAL
- Facts about MER
- Map of Nearest Airports to YAL
- List of Nearest Airports to YAL
- Map of Furthest Airports from YAL
- List of Furthest Airports from YAL
- Map of Nearest Airports to MER
- List of Nearest Airports to MER
- Map of Furthest Airports from MER
- List of Furthest Airports from MER
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Alert Bay Airport (YAL), British Columbia, Canada and Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 964 miles (or 1,552 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 Alert Bay Airport and Castle Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | YAL / CYAL |
Airport Name: | Alert Bay Airport |
Location: | British Columbia, Canada |
GPS Coordinates: | 50°34'55"N by 126°54'56"W |
Operator/Owner: | Corporation of Village of Alert Bay |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 240 feet (73 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from YAL |
More Information: | YAL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MER / KMER |
Airport Name: | Castle Airport |
Location: | Atwater, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°22'50"N by 120°34'5"W |
Operator/Owner: | Merced County Department of Commerce, Aviation, and Economic Development |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 191 feet (58 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MER |
More Information: | MER Maps & Info |
Facts about Alert Bay Airport (YAL):
- Alert Bay Airport (YAL) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Alert Bay Airport (YAL) is Port McNeill Airport (YMP), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) W of YAL.
- Because of Alert Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 240 feet, planes can take off or land at Alert Bay 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 Alert Bay Airport (YAL) is East London Airport (ELS), which is located 10,675 miles (17,179 kilometers) away in East London, South Africa.
Facts about Castle Airport (MER):
- The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- Castle Air Museum is 500 yards away, displaying over 50 restored World War II, Korean War, and Cold War era aircraft.
- EPA investigations have been completed at multiple areas of contamination including landfills, discharge areas, chemical disposal areas, fire training areas, fuel spill areas, and polychlorinated biphenyl spill areas.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Castle Airport (MER) is Merced Regional Airport (MCE), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSE of MER.
- Castle Airport is a public use airport located seven nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Merced, a city in Merced County, California, United States.
- 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.
- 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.
- Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.