Nonstop flight route between Bilbao, Spain and SeaTac (near Seattle and Tacoma), Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bilbao Airport (BIO), Bilbao, Spain and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA), SeaTac (near Seattle and Tacoma), Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,162 miles (or 8,308 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 Seattle–Tacoma 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 Seattle–Tacoma 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):

• The closest airport to Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport (VIT), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) SSE of BIO.
• 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.
• Bilbao Airport (BIO) has 2 runways.
• After various aeronautic experiments in the province of Biscay, in October 1927 steps were taken by the Union of Public Works to establish an airport in Bilbao.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1996, a new taxiway with two rapid exits and a new aircraft parking apron were built.
• In addition to being known as "Bilbao Airport", another name for BIO is "Bilboko aireportua (eu) Aeropuerto de Bilbao (es)".
• Bilbao Airport handled 3,800,789 passengers last year.

Facts about Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA):

• Starting in the late 1980s, the Port of Seattle and a council representing local county governments considered the future of air traffic in the region and predicted that airport could reach capacity by 2000.
• There is also a scheduled bus service to downtown Vancouver, Canada, through Quick Shuttle, with other pick-up stops at downtown Seattle, Bellingham International Airport, and drop-off stops just inside the Canadian–U.S.
• Seattle–Tacoma International Airport handled 34,776,666 passengers last year.
• The top five carriers at the airport in number of passengers carried in 2012 were Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines.
• Citing increased landing fees and other costs due to the aforementioned work at the airport, Southwest Airlines threatened in 2005 to move to nearby Boeing Field.
• The furthest airport from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,781 miles (17,350 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• In addition to being known as "Seattle–Tacoma International Airport", another name for SEA is "Sea–Tac Airport".
• The April 1957 OAG shows 216 departures a week on United, 80 Northwest, 35 Western, 21 Trans-Canada, 20 Pan Am, 20 Pacific Northern, and 10 Alaska.
• The closest airport to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is Renton Municipal Airport (RNT), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) NE of SEA.
• Because of Seattle–Tacoma International Airport's relatively low elevation of 433 feet, planes can take off or land at Seattle–Tacoma 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.
• Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) has 3 runways.