Nonstop flight route between Bilbao, Spain and Rockford, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bilbao Airport (BIO), Bilbao, Spain and Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD), Rockford, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,162 miles (or 6,697 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 Chicago Rockford 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 Bilbao Airport and Chicago Rockford 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 Bilbao Airport (BIO):

• In addition to being known as "Bilbao Airport", another name for BIO is "Bilboko aireportua (eu) Aeropuerto de Bilbao (es)".
• The closest airport to Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport (VIT), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) SSE of BIO.
• Bilbao Airport (BIO) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• Bilbao Airport is a public airport located 9 km north of Bilbao, in the municipality of Loiu, in Biscay.
• 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.
• In February 2009 plans were announced to expand the terminal building, the facilities and the car parking so as to double the current capacity to 8 million passengers.
• During the eighties, the ILS landing system entered into service for runway 10/28.
• Between 1964 and 1965, an instrumental ILS landing system and a meteorological radio for storm detection were installed.

Facts about Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD):

• The larger north cargo apron is next to the main terminal.
• The furthest airport from Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,008 miles (17,716 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) is Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport (JVL), which is located 30 miles (47 kilometers) N of RFD.
• The current terminal was built in 1987 in an effort to expand airline service in Rockford, but the common use of bus service to O'Hare International Airport kept most airlines away from Rockford.
• RFD was once the company headquarters for Ryan International Airlines, staging many of its aircraft at the airport for charter hire.
• RFD traces its history back to 1917, when Camp Grant was established during World War I as an U.S.
• The airport is in a foreign-trade zone.
• Because of Chicago Rockford International Airport's relatively low elevation of 742 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago Rockford 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.