Nonstop flight route between Brussels, Belgium and Chicago, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Brussels Airport (BRU), Brussels, Belgium and Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), Chicago, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,151 miles (or 6,681 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 Brussels Airport and Chicago Midway 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 Brussels Airport and Chicago Midway 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 Brussels Airport (BRU):

• The closest airport to Brussels Airport (BRU) is Antwerp International Airport (ANR), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) N of BRU.
• Brussels Airport handled 19,133,222 passengers last year.
• Pier A West is a planned expansion of Pier A, and is meant to relieve Pier B by also handling flights from non-Schengen countries.
• The furthest airport from Brussels Airport (BRU) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,945 miles (19,223 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In 2005, the airport was awarded Best Airport in Europe by Airports Council International/International Air Transport Association, based on a survey conducted with over 100,000 passengers worldwide.
• Furthermore, the airport provides meeting facilities and has the ability to host congresses up to 600 participants.
• In addition to being known as "Brussels Airport", another name for BRU is "Luchthaven Brussel-Nationaal (Dutch)Aéroport de Bruxelles-National (French)".
• The origins of Brussels Airport at Zaventem date back to 1940, when the German occupying force laid claim to 600 ha of agricultural fields reserved as back-up airfield "Steenokkerzeel".
• Because of Brussels Airport's relatively low elevation of 184 feet, planes can take off or land at Brussels 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.
• Pier A is the newest pier on Brussels Airport and was opened on 15 May 2002.
• Brussels Airport (BRU) has 3 runways.

Facts about Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW):

• Midway has 43 aircraft gates on three concourses
• Dominated by low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines, Midway is the Dallas-based carrier's largest focus city, as of 2013.
• For over 16 years, Midway had been the main hub for Indianapolis-based ATA, but the airline shut down on June 7, 2008.
• Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) has 5 runways.
• The furthest airport from Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,083 miles (17,836 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• More construction was funded in part by $1 million from the Works Progress Administration.
• On April 20, 2009, a $2.5 billion deal to privatize the airport via a 99-year lease fell through when the consortium could not put together financing.
• The closest airport to Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) is Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) NNW of MDW.
• Because of Chicago Midway International Airport's relatively low elevation of 620 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago Midway 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.