Nonstop flight route between Atwater, California, United States and Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MER to ASP:
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- About this route
- MER Airport Information
- ASP Airport Information
- Facts about MER
- Facts about ASP
- Map of Nearest Airports to MER
- List of Nearest Airports to MER
- Map of Furthest Airports from MER
- List of Furthest Airports from MER
- Map of Nearest Airports to ASP
- List of Nearest Airports to ASP
- Map of Furthest Airports from ASP
- List of Furthest Airports from ASP
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Castle Airport (MER), Atwater, California, United States and Alice Springs Airport (ASP), Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,021 miles (or 12,908 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 Castle Airport and Alice Springs 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 Castle Airport and Alice Springs Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | ASP / YBAS |
Airport Name: | Alice Springs Airport |
Location: | Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 23°48'24"S by 133°54'7"E |
Area Served: | Alice Springs, Northern Territory |
Operator/Owner: | Northern Territory Airports Pty Ltd |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1789 feet (545 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from ASP |
More Information: | ASP Maps & Info |
Facts about Castle Airport (MER):
- 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.
- Castle Airport (MER) currently has only 1 runway.
- Castle Airport covers an area of 1,360 acres which contains one runway with an 11,802 x 150 ft asphalt and concrete pavement.
- With its central location in the San Joaquin Valley, on the route of the proposed California High-Speed Rail system, and with a large, underdeveloped site, Castle Airport has been submitted as a possible location for the central maintenance facility for the system.
- The furthest airport from Castle Airport (MER) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,312 miles (18,204 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- 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.
- The airport is located at the former Castle Air Force Base which closed in 1995.
Facts about Alice Springs Airport (ASP):
- On 5 October 1921 the first aircraft landed at the original airport located in the Alice Springs township.
- Alice Springs Airport (ASP) has 2 runways.
- Tragedy struck the airport again on 5 January 1977, when a former employee of Connair, Colin Richard Forman, flew a stolen aircraft into the Connair offices located at the airport, killing himself and three of the airline's employees.
- The facility is to be operated by Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage Ltd which chose Alice Springs because its dry, arid climate is perfect for aircraft storage and preservation.
- The furthest airport from Alice Springs Airport (ASP) is Barbuda Codrington Airport (BBQ), which is located 11,336 miles (18,243 kilometers) away in Codrington, Barbuda, Antigua and Barbuda.
- Alice Springs Airport was the site of the resolution of Australia's first domestic aircraft hijacking.
- Alice Springs Airport handled 598,749 passengers last year.
- The closest airport to Alice Springs Airport (ASP) is Cowra Airport (CWT), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) E of ASP.