Nonstop flight route between Lorraine, France and Bilbao, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport (ETZ), Lorraine, France and Bilbao Airport (BIO), Bilbao, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 588 miles (or 946 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 relatively short distance between Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport and Bilbao Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport (ETZ):

• In addition to being known as "Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport", another name for ETZ is "Aéroport de Metz-Nancy-Lorraine".
• Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport (ETZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport (ETZ) is Saarbrücken Airport (SCN), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) ENE of ETZ.
• Because of Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport's relatively low elevation of 870 feet, planes can take off or land at Metz–Nancy–Lorraine 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 Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport (ETZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport (meaning Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,057 miles (19,404 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Bilbao Airport (BIO):

• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Bilbao Airport", another name for BIO is "Bilboko aireportua (eu) Aeropuerto de Bilbao (es)".
• After various aeronautic experiments in the province of Biscay, in October 1927 steps were taken by the Union of Public Works to establish an airport in Bilbao.
• 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.
• 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.
• With the past increase of traffic, the terminal would have become saturated again in a year because it is designed to handle about 4.5 million passengers per year, in 2007 it went nearly to its maximum capacity.
• Users of the airport widely complained about its lack of an arrivals area, since once passengers cleared customs, they stepped directly outside, and there they were often exposed to the elements.
• The construction works commenced during the Civil War but during this time and until June 1937 the airport was only used as a base for military activities.
• 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.