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

Arrival Airport:

Distance from GFK to SDU:
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- About this route
- GFK Airport Information
- SDU Airport Information
- Facts about GFK
- Facts about SDU
- Map of Nearest Airports to GFK
- List of Nearest Airports to GFK
- Map of Furthest Airports from GFK
- List of Furthest Airports from GFK
- Map of Nearest Airports to SDU
- List of Nearest Airports to SDU
- Map of Furthest Airports from SDU
- List of Furthest Airports from SDU
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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GFK / KGFK |
Airport Name: | Grand Forks International Airport |
Location: | Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°56'57"N by 97°10'33"W |
Operator/Owner: | Grand Forks Regional Airport Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 845 feet (258 meters) |
# of Runways: | 4 |
View all routes: | Routes from GFK |
More Information: | GFK Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SDU / SBRJ |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
GPS Coordinates: | 22°54'37"S by 43°9'46"W |
Area Served: | Rio de Janeiro |
Operator/Owner: | Infraero |
Airport Type: | Public/Military |
Elevation: | 11 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from SDU |
More Information: | SDU Maps & Info |
Facts about Grand Forks International Airport (GFK):
- Grand Forks International Airport (GFK) has 4 runways.
- 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.
- FedEx is the second largest employer at KGFK.
- 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.
- KGFK is a non-hub, primary commercial service airport.
- GFK Flight Support, the fixed base operator at the airport, completed construction of a new $4.5 million facility in Fall 2008.
- 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.
- A unique attribute of KGFK is that it is the University of North Dakota’s Aerospace program.
- In 2009 the airport's FAA control tower was the 23rd busiest in the nation, with 346,165 tower operations.
- 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.
Facts about Santos Dumont Airport (SDU):
- 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.
- A new public terminal building for seaplanes was inaugurated on 29 October 1938.
- Bus 016 is a circular service between Santos Dumont Airport and downtown area, particularly Cinelândia Subway station.
- On 21 May 1959 a formal agreement between Varig, Cruzeiro do Sul, and VASP created an air shuttle service, the first of its kind in the world.
- Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) has 2 runways.
- 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.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Santos Dumont Airport", another name for SDU is "Aeroporto Santos Dumont".