Nonstop flight route between Santa Ana, California, United States and Dakhla, Western Sahara:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from NZJ to VIL:
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- About this route
- NZJ Airport Information
- VIL Airport Information
- Facts about NZJ
- Facts about VIL
- Map of Nearest Airports to NZJ
- List of Nearest Airports to NZJ
- Map of Furthest Airports from NZJ
- List of Furthest Airports from NZJ
- Map of Nearest Airports to VIL
- List of Nearest Airports to VIL
- Map of Furthest Airports from VIL
- List of Furthest Airports from VIL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States and Dakhla Airport (VIL), Dakhla, Western Sahara would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,952 miles (or 9,579 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 MCAS El Toro and Dakhla 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 MCAS El Toro and Dakhla Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | NZJ / KNZJ |
Airport Name: | MCAS El Toro |
Location: | Santa Ana, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°40'33"N by 117°43'51"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Marine Corps |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 383 feet (117 meters) |
# of Runways: | 5 |
View all routes: | Routes from NZJ |
More Information: | NZJ Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | VIL / GMMH |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Dakhla, Western Sahara |
GPS Coordinates: | 23°43'5"N by 15°55'54"W |
Area Served: | Dakhla |
Operator/Owner: | Office National Des Aéroports (ONDA) / Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF) |
Airport Type: | Public / Military |
Elevation: | 36 feet (11 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from VIL |
More Information: | VIL Maps & Info |
Facts about MCAS El Toro (NZJ):
- Because of MCAS El Toro's relatively low elevation of 383 feet, planes can take off or land at MCAS El Toro 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.
- MCAS El Toro (NZJ) has 5 runways.
- In 1993, MCAS El Toro was designated for closing by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission and all of its activities were to be transferred to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
- Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the 4,682 acres home of Marine Corps aviation on the West Coast.
- In May 1942, Lieutenant Colonel William Fox was directed to select the sites for all of the Marine Corps' West Coast air stations.
- The closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of NZJ.
- The furthest airport from MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,486 miles (18,486 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- Before the site could be developed for civilian use, the Department of the Navy was required to perform environmental remediation to clean up contaminated soil on the site.
Facts about Dakhla Airport (VIL):
- The closest airport to Dakhla Airport (VIL) is Nouadhibou International Airport (NDB), which is located 205 miles (330 kilometers) SSW of VIL.
- Because of Dakhla Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Dakhla 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 Dakhla Airport (VIL) is Tontouta International Airport (NOU), which is nearly antipodal to Dakhla Airport (meaning Dakhla Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tontouta International Airport), and is located 12,256 miles (19,725 kilometers) away in Noumea, New Caledonia.
- In addition to being known as "Dakhla Airport", another name for VIL is "GMMH/GSVO".
- Dakhla Airport (VIL) currently has only 1 runway.
- During World War II, the airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command as a stopover for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel on the North African Cairo-Dakar transport route for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel.
- Dakhla Airport handled 4,206 passengers last year.
- The passenger terminal covers 670 square metres and is capable to handle up to 55,000 passengers per year.