Nonstop flight route between Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, United States and Riga, Latvia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Chippewa County International Airport (CIU), Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, United States and Riga International Airport (RIX), Riga, Latvia would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,210 miles (or 6,775 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 Chippewa County International Airport and Riga 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 Chippewa County International Airport and Riga 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 Chippewa County International Airport (CIU):

• The closest airport to Chippewa County International Airport (CIU) is Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of CIU.
• As per the Federal Aviation Administration, this airport had 13,269 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 13,173 in 2009, and 14,349 in 2010.
• Chippewa County International Airport (CIU) has 2 runways.
• Because of Chippewa County International Airport's relatively low elevation of 799 feet, planes can take off or land at Chippewa County 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 Chippewa County International Airport (CIU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,103 miles (17,869 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Riga International Airport (RIX):

• The airport is located in the Mārupe municipality 5.4 NM west of Riga and is a state-owned joint-stock company, with the owner of all shares being the government of Latvia.
• Because of Riga International Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Riga 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.
• Riga International Airport (RIX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport was built in 1973 as an alternative to Spilve Airport, which had become outdated.
• In addition to being known as "Riga International Airport", another name for RIX is "Starptautiskā lidosta “Rīga”".
• The closest airport to Riga International Airport (RIX) is Šiauliai International Airport (SQQ), which is located 74 miles (120 kilometers) SSW of RIX.
• The furthest airport from Riga International Airport (RIX) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,169 miles (17,975 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• As the Latvian government may be backing out of the state-financed plan to build the 20 million passenger capable terminal, airBaltic is now planning, by 2014, to build for its own exclusive use a second terminal which can handle 40 planes and 5000 passengers per hour, equivalent to about 7.5 million passengers per year, located next to the current terminal, while leaving the current terminal for all other airlines to use.