Nonstop flight route between Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from GRR to GIG:
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- About this route
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About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR), Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States and Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,275 miles (or 8,490 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 Gerald R. Ford International Airport and Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim 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 Gerald R. Ford International Airport and Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GRR / KGRR |
Airport Name: | Gerald R. Ford International Airport |
Location: | Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 42°52'50"N by 85°31'22"W |
Area Served: | Grand Rapids, Michigan |
Operator/Owner: | Kent County |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 794 feet (242 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from GRR |
More Information: | GRR Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GIG / SBGL |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
GPS Coordinates: | 22°48'35"S by 43°15'2"W |
Area Served: | Rio de Janeiro |
Operator/Owner: | Aeroporto Rio de Janeiro and Infraero |
Airport Type: | Public/Military |
Elevation: | 28 feet (9 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from GIG |
More Information: | GIG Maps & Info |
Facts about Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR):
- The furthest airport from Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,165 miles (17,969 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- 81,221,489 pounds of air freight were handled in 2012, representing an increase of 0.6% over the previous year.
- Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) has 3 runways.
- Because of Gerald R. Ford International Airport's relatively low elevation of 794 feet, planes can take off or land at Gerald R. Ford 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.
- Until October 31, 2011 the airport was a focus city for Allegiant Air.
- The first scheduled air service in the United States was between Grand Rapids and Detroit on a Ford-Stout monoplane named Miss Grand Rapids, which started July 26, 1926.
- The closest airport to Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) is Park Township Airport (HLM), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) W of GRR.
Facts about Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG):
- Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport handled 17,115,368 passengers last year.
- The history of the airport begins on May 10, 1923 when a School of Naval Aviation was established near Galeão beach on Governador Island.
- Because of Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport's relatively low elevation of 28 feet, planes can take off or land at Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim 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.
- Presently section A of Terminal 1 is under renovation.
- The furthest airport from Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is nearly antipodal to Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (meaning Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2), and is located 12,117 miles (19,500 kilometers) away in Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan.
- The closest airport to Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG) is Santos Dumont Airport (SDU), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) SE of GIG.
- Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG) has 2 runways.
- On January 20, 1977, when the airport was receiving all of Brazil's major international flights, this new terminal was opened and all scheduled passenger flights were transferred to the new building.
- By 1970 the airport was Brazil's major international and domestic air-hub.
- In addition to being known as "Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport", another name for GIG is "Aeroporto Internacional do Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim".
- On February 1, 1952 the new passenger terminal was opened and remained in use with enlargements until 1977.