Nonstop flight route between Bilbao, Spain and San Francisco, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bilbao Airport (BIO), Bilbao, Spain and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,682 miles (or 9,144 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 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 Bilbao Airport 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 Bilbao Airport (BIO):

• During the eighties, the ILS landing system entered into service for runway 10/28.
• 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 addition to being known as "Bilbao Airport", another name for BIO is "Bilboko aireportua (eu) Aeropuerto de Bilbao (es)".
• Bilbao Airport (BIO) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• There has been some criticism of Santiago Calatrava's design by Aena, the Spanish airport authority, because it seems difficult to make further enlargements in the terminal's capacity because the design is too closed.
• Bilbao Airport handled 3,800,789 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport (VIT), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) SSE of BIO.

Facts about San Francisco International Airport (SFO):

• BART is SFO's connection to Caltrain at the Millbrae Station, which requires a transfer at the San Bruno station during most of BART's weekday operating hours.
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has 4 runways.
• After the war United Airlines used the Pan Am terminal 37°38′05″N 122°23′24″W / 37.6347°N 122.39°W / 37.6347.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
• The airport has four terminals and seven concourses arranged in a ring.
• 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.
• Terminal 2, formerly known as the "Central Terminal," opened in 1954 as the main airport terminal.