Nonstop flight route between Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and San Francisco, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN), Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,601 miles (or 9,014 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 Cologne/Bonn 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 Cologne/Bonn 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 Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN):

• Cologne Bonn Airport is a major cargo hub in the world mainly due to its function as a hub for FedEx and UPS.
• In April 2014 Ryanair announced the opening of their fifth German base at Cologne/Bonn Airport for October 2014.
• Because of Cologne/Bonn Airport's relatively low elevation of 302 feet, planes can take off or land at Cologne/Bonn 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.
• Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) is Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), which is located 34 miles (54 kilometers) NNW of CGN.
• During the 50s and 60s two more runways and a new terminal were constructed.
• Cologne/Bonn Airport handled 9,280,070 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,921 miles (19,185 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Cologne/Bonn Airport", another name for CGN is "Flughafen Köln/Bonn".

Facts about San Francisco International Airport (SFO):

• 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.
• In summer 2011, Lufthansa and Air France operated the Airbus A380 at SFO seasonally, the first A380 scheduled service to the airport.
• The airport has four terminals and seven concourses arranged in a ring.
• Before the 1930s, airports used a two-byte abbreviation.
• 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.
• In 1954 the airport's Central Passenger Terminal opened.
• 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.
• San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
• On May 12, 2008, a $383 million renovation project was announced that included a new control tower, the use of green materials, and a seismic retrofit.
• A long-planned extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system to the airport opened on June 22, 2003, allowing passengers to board BART trains at the international terminal to San Francisco or the East Bay.
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has 4 runways.