Nonstop flight route between Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom and San Francisco, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Glasgow International Airport (GLA), Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,024 miles (or 8,086 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 Glasgow International Airport and San Francisco 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 Glasgow International Airport and San Francisco 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 Glasgow International Airport (GLA):

• The closest airport to Glasgow International Airport (GLA) is Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SSW of GLA.
• An extended terminal building was created by building a pre-fabricated metal structure around the front of the original Basil Spence building, hence screening much of its distinctive Brutalist style architecture from view, with the void between the two structures joined by a glass atrium and walkway.
• Further growth is hampered by the airport's location, which is constrained by the M8 motorway to the south, the town of Renfrew to the east and the River Clyde to the north.
• Because of Glasgow International Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Glasgow 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.
• Glasgow International Airport handled 7,363,764 passengers last year.
• Work commenced in late 2007, on Skyhub which created a single, purpose built security screening area in place of the previous individual facilities for each of the three piers, the other side effect being an enlargened duty-free shopping area created by taking most of the previous landside shopping and restaurant facilities airside.
• The furthest airport from Glasgow International Airport (GLA) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,739 miles (18,892 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Glasgow International Airport", another name for GLA is "Port-adhair Eadar-nàiseanta Ghlaschu".
• Icelandair temporarily moved its base of operations from Keflavík International Airport to Glasgow due to the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull.
• In the 1960s, Glasgow Corporation decided that a new airport for the city was required.
• Glasgow International Airport (GLA) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about San Francisco International Airport (SFO):

• The furthest airport from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• All SkyTeam, Oneworld and non-aligned international carriers operate from Boarding Area A.
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has 4 runways.
• SFO is the largest airport in the Bay Area and the second busiest in California, after Los Angeles International Airport.
• The closest airport to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Half Moon Bay AirportHalf Moon Bay Flight Strip (HAF), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) SW of SFO.
• In 1954 the airport's Central Passenger Terminal opened.
• Before the 1930s, airports used a two-byte abbreviation.
• San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
• Because of San Francisco International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at San Francisco 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 long-planned extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system to the airport opened on June 22, 2003, allowing passengers to board BART trains at the international terminal to San Francisco or the East Bay.