Nonstop flight route between Bethel, Alaska, United States and Sofia, Bulgaria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bethel Airport (BET), Bethel, Alaska, United States and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF), Sofia, Bulgaria would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,281 miles (or 8,499 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 Bethel Airport and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna, 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 Bethel Airport and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna. 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 Bethel Airport (BET):

• Bethel Airport is a state owned, public use airport located three nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Bethel, a city in the Bethel Census Area of the U.S.
• The closest airport to Bethel Airport (BET) is Bethel Seaplane Base (JBT), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) E of BET.
• The furthest airport from Bethel Airport (BET) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,584 miles (17,034 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• Because of Bethel Airport's relatively low elevation of 126 feet, planes can take off or land at Bethel 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.
• Bethel Airport (BET) has 3 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Bethel Airport", other names for BET include "(former Bethel Air Base)" and "(former Todd Army Airfield)".
• Bethel Airport covers an area of 1,056 acres at an elevation of 126 feet above mean sea level.

Facts about Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF):

• Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2004 Strabag demanded an additional 6 million euro due to rising steel prices.
• In addition to being known as "Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna", other names for SOF include "Vrazhdebna Airport" and "Летище София".
• In mid-2012 the airport will have one of the most modern and most beautiful airport towers in Europe.
• The closest airport to Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Plovdiv Airport (PDV), which is located 86 miles (138 kilometers) ESE of SOF.
• The furthest airport from Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,437 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna handled 350,432 passengers last year.
• A significant and recurring operational criticism of Sofia Airport has concerned its historical lack of all-weather operations capability.
• The Sofia Airport Centre, a premiere corporate office, hospitality and logistics centre in Bulgaria is being constructed in the vicinity.
• The terminal had substantially reached its capacity of some 600,000 passengers a year by the later 1960s and was subjected to a number of refurbishments and extensions beginning in the spring of 1968.