Nonstop flight route between Bristol, England, United Kingdom and San Jose, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bristol Airport (BRS), Bristol, England, United Kingdom and Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC), San Jose, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,291 miles (or 8,515 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 Bristol Airport and Norman Y. Mineta San Jose 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 Bristol Airport and Norman Y. Mineta San Jose 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 Bristol Airport (BRS):

• Bristol Airport (BRS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Bristol Airport's relatively low elevation of 622 feet, planes can take off or land at Bristol 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 Bristol Airport (BRS) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,941 miles (19,217 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• In January 2001 the airport was purchased for £198m, by a joint venture of Macquarie Bank and Cintra, part of the Ferrovial group.
• In addition to the purchase price of £55,000, the city spent a further £200,000 by 1958 on building the terminal and other development.
• Bristol Airport handled 6,131,896 passengers last year.
• Bristol Airport is located on the A38, 8 mi southwest of Bristol city centre.
• In 1944, BOAC started to use the airfield for Dakota and Liberator crew training, and BOAC flights made use of it occasionally as an alternate airfield for Whitchurch, and for topping-up fuel on the Bristol–Lisbon route.
• Ryanair established a base at the airport in 2007.
• The closest airport to Bristol Airport (BRS) is Bristol Filton Airport (FZO), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NNE of BRS.

Facts about Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC):

• The closest airport to Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) is Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County (RHV), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) ESE of SJC.
• Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport handled 8,357,384 passengers last year.
• In September 2011, Hawaiian Airlines announced that it would begin service to Maui on January 10, 2012.
• The furthest airport from Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,363 miles (18,287 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The runway that became 12R/30L was 4,500 feet until about 1962—Brokaw Rd was the northwest boundary of the airport.
• Because of Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport's relatively low elevation of 62 feet, planes can take off or land at Norman Y. Mineta San Jose 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.
• Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) has 3 runways.
• American Airlines opened a hub at San Jose in 1988, using slots it obtained in the buyout of Air California in 1986.
• On February 4, 2013, Virgin America announced it will begin service from San Jose to Los Angeles International Airport on May 1, 2013, with four daily nonstop flights each way.