Nonstop flight route between Bilbao, Spain and between Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C., United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bilbao Airport (BIO), Bilbao, Spain and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), between Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C., United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,715 miles (or 5,979 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 Bilbao Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall 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 Bilbao Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall 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 Bilbao Airport (BIO):

• The construction works commenced during the Civil War but during this time and until June 1937 the airport was only used as a base for military activities.
• In addition to being known as "Bilbao Airport", another name for BIO is "Bilboko aireportua (eu) Aeropuerto de Bilbao (es)".
• In 1996, a new taxiway with two rapid exits and a new aircraft parking apron were built.
• Bilbao Airport (BIO) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport (VIT), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) SSE of BIO.
• Bilbao Airport handled 3,800,789 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Hood Aerodrome (MRO), which is nearly antipodal to Bilbao Airport (meaning Bilbao Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hood Aerodrome), and is located 12,260 miles (19,730 kilometers) away in Masterton, New Zealand.
• Because of Bilbao Airport's relatively low elevation of 137 feet, planes can take off or land at Bilbao 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.
• Between 1964 and 1965, an instrumental ILS landing system and a meteorological radio for storm detection were installed.
• Bilbao Airport is a public airport located 9 km north of Bilbao, in the municipality of Loiu, in Biscay.
• With the past increase of traffic, the terminal would have become saturated again in a year because it is designed to handle about 4.5 million passengers per year, in 2007 it went nearly to its maximum capacity.

Facts about Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI):

• Beginning in the 1980s, and later for much of the 1990s, BWI was a major hub for Piedmont Airlines and successor US Airways, but that airline's financial difficulties in the wake of the dot-com bust, the September 11 attacks, and intense low fare competition forced it to significantly reduce its presence at the airport.
• Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) has 4 runways.
• The closest airport to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) is Tipton Airport (FME), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) SW of BWI.
• The State of Maryland, through the Maryland Department of Transportation, purchased Friendship International Airport from the City of Baltimore for $36 million in 1972.
• The furthest airport from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,691 miles (18,814 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport handled 22,391,785 passengers last year.
• As of January 2014, Southwest Airlines, including its subsidiary AirTran Airways, represents approximately 71% of passengers followed by Delta Air Lines at 8%.
• Because of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport's relatively low elevation of 146 feet, planes can take off or land at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall 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.