Nonstop flight route between Groningen / Eelde, Netherlands and San Diego, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ), Groningen / Eelde, Netherlands and San Diego International Airport (SAN), San Diego, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,615 miles (or 9,036 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 Groningen Airport Eelde and San Diego 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 Groningen Airport Eelde and San Diego 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 Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ):

• The furthest airport from Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,778 miles (18,956 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) is Emden Airport (EME), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) NE of GRQ.
• On August 16, 1954, the Rijksluchtvaartschool – or National Aviation Academy in English – moved to the airport from Gilze-Rijen.
• Because of Groningen Airport Eelde's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at Groningen Airport Eelde 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 airport was appointed as an alternative airport for flights bound for Amsterdam/Schiphol, in 1948.
• During World War II, between 1940 and 1945, the airport was occupied by the German Military.
• Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) has 2 runways.
• In 1977, a new passenger terminal opened and more parking space for cars was constructed.
• Groningen Airport Eelde handled 20,866 passengers last year.

Facts about San Diego International Airport (SAN):

• The closest airport to San Diego International Airport (SAN) is NAS North Island (NZY), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of SAN.
• The furthest airport from San Diego International Airport (SAN) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,540 miles (18,571 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The first scheduled jet flights at Lindbergh Field were in 1960, American Airlines Boeing 720s to Phoenix and United Airlines 720s to San Francisco.
• San Diego International Airport (SAN) currently has only 1 runway.
• British Airways resumed nonstop service to London Heathrow Airport on June 1, 2011 with Boeing 777-200ERs.
• San Diego International is the busiest single-runway commercial airport in the United States, and the second-busiest single-use runway in the world after London Gatwick with about 550 departures and arrivals carrying 50,000 passengers each day, and a total of 17,250,269 passengers in 2012.
• In addition to being known as "San Diego International Airport", another name for SAN is "Lindbergh Field".
• Because of San Diego International Airport's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at San Diego 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.
• Most takeoffs and landings at SAN are from east to west.