Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and San José, Costa Rica:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from GFA to SJO:
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- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- SJO Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
- Facts about SJO
- Map of Nearest Airports to GFA
- List of Nearest Airports to GFA
- Map of Furthest Airports from GFA
- List of Furthest Airports from GFA
- Map of Nearest Airports to SJO
- List of Nearest Airports to SJO
- Map of Furthest Airports from SJO
- List of Furthest Airports from SJO
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) (SJO), San José, Costa Rica would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,032 miles (or 4,879 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 Malmstrom Air Force Base and Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO), 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 Malmstrom Air Force Base and Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO). You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GFA / KGFA |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Great Falls, Montana, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°30'16"N by 111°11'13"W |
View all routes: | Routes from GFA |
More Information: | GFA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SJO / MROC |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | San José, Costa Rica |
GPS Coordinates: | 9°59'38"N by 84°12'32"W |
Area Served: | San José, Alajuela, Heredia, Cartago |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Costa Rica |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 3022 feet (921 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SJO |
More Information: | SJO Maps & Info |
Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):
- Later, the 517th Air Transport Wing was redesginated the 1701st Air Transport Wing on 1 June 1948 when Air Transport Command was redesignated the Military Air Transport Service.
- DC-20 was initially under the Great Falls Air Defense Sector, established on 1 March 1959.
- This included one of the greatest technology transfers in the history of the world.
- On 23 December 1959, the Air Force Ballistic Missile Committee approved the selection of Malmstrom AFB to host the first Minuteman ICBM base.
- Aircraft shipments to the Soviet Union stopped in September 1945, when World War II ended, with approximately 8,000 aircraft having been processed in a 21-month period.
- The closest airport to Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA) is Great Falls International Airport (GTF), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) W of GFA.
- The furthest airport from Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,495 miles (16,891 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Great Falls AAB was assigned to II Bomber Command, Second Air Force.
- Malmstrom Air Force Base traces its beginnings back to 1939 when World War II broke out in Europe.
- In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
Facts about Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) (SJO):
- The closest airport to Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) (SJO) is Tobías Bolaños International Airport (SYQ), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) ESE of SJO.
- In addition to being known as "Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO)", another name for SJO is "Aeropuerto Internacional Juan Santamaría".
- Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) handled 4,257,606 passengers last year.
- The furthest airport from Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) (SJO) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) (meaning Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,270 miles (19,746 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
- The airport's main runway allows for operations of large, widebody aircraft.
- Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) (SJO) currently has only 1 runway.
- There is a bus stop outside the airport for the Alajuela - San José and Alajuela - Heredia route in both directions.
- Interior where Gates 1, 2 & 3 are located.
- No major changes were made to the terminal until November 1997 when the government issued a decree requesting participation of private companies to manage the operations of the airport.
- Gates 13, 14, 15, and 16