Nonstop flight route between St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom and San Francisco, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Leuchars (ADX), St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,044 miles (or 8,118 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 RAF Leuchars and San Francisco International 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 RAF Leuchars and San Francisco International 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 RAF Leuchars (ADX):

• On 18 July 2011 Defence Secretary Liam Fox announced that RAF Leuchars would close, whilst RAF Lossiemouth in Moray would be spared as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review.
• Leuchars was home to the last squadron of Panavia Tornado F3s, No.
• The closest airport to RAF Leuchars (ADX) is Dundee Airport (DND), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NW of ADX.
• In 1954 the fixed wing aircraft had been joined by a flight of Bristol Sycamore helicopters for Search and Rescue duties.
• The furthest airport from RAF Leuchars (ADX) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,678 miles (18,793 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Leuchars is also the base for No.
• Like so many RAF stations, the airfield itself owes its existence to the stimulus of war, and work began on levelling the existing site on Reres Farm in 1916.

Facts about San Francisco International Airport (SFO):

• In 1954 the airport's Central Passenger Terminal opened.
• The furthest airport from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has 4 runways.
• For lack of space, the terminal was built on top of the airport's main access road at enormous expense, completing the continuous ring of terminals.
• The closest airport to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Half Moon Bay AirportHalf Moon Bay Flight Strip (HAF), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) SW of SFO.
• The FAA has warned that the airport's control tower would be unable to withstand a major earthquake and has requested that it be replaced.
• In summer 2011, Lufthansa and Air France operated the Airbus A380 at SFO seasonally, the first A380 scheduled service to the airport.
• San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
• Because of San Francisco International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at San Francisco International 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.
• SFO was one of several US airports which operated the Registered Traveler program from April 2007 until funding ended in June 2009, which had allowed travelers to pass through security checkpoints quickly.