Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Santos Dumont Airport (SDU), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,927 miles (or 9,539 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 Grand Forks International Airport and Santos Dumont 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 Grand Forks International Airport and Santos Dumont 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 Grand Forks International Airport (GFK):

• The closest airport to Grand Forks International Airport (GFK) is Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) W of GFK.
• One option was to keep the terminal as is.
• The furthest airport from Grand Forks International Airport (GFK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,514 miles (16,921 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Grand Forks International Airport's relatively low elevation of 845 feet, planes can take off or land at Grand Forks 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.
• On November 9, 2010 KGFK had 100,570 boardings, one more than the record achieved in 12 months in 1994.
• In the mid-2000s, discussion began of upgrading or totally replacing the terminal as it has structural and safety problems and leaves little to no room for expansion.
• Due to the increased amount of general aviation traffic, primarily from the UND Aerospace flight training school, a fourth runway has been completed on the southeast side of the airport.
• Grand Forks International Airport (GFK) has 4 runways.

Facts about Santos Dumont Airport (SDU):

• In addition to being known as "Santos Dumont Airport", another name for SDU is "Aeroporto Santos Dumont".
• It was announced on 5 August 2009 that in order to renew its operational licence the Rio de Janeiro State Environment Institute – INEA would require Santos Dumont Airport to adjust operational standards.
• Because of Santos Dumont Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Santos Dumont 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.
• Santos Dumont Airport handled 9,204,603 passengers last year.
• All these bus services have their stops in front of the arrivals terminal and tickets can be bought in the bus while boarding.
• The closest airport to Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) is Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NW of SDU.
• In 1934, in order to handle a growing amount of land operations, land was reclaimed from the sea to create the first runway of the airport with a length of 1,300 feet.
• Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) has 2 runways.
• Originally known as Calabouço Airport, the history of the airport can be traced back to the early 1930s.
• The furthest airport from Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is nearly antipodal to Santos Dumont Airport (meaning Santos Dumont Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2), and is located 12,125 miles (19,513 kilometers) away in Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan.