Nonstop flight route between Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States and Istanbul, Turkey:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR), Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States and Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST), Istanbul, Turkey would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,347 miles (or 8,606 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 Istanbul Atatürk 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 Istanbul Atatürk 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 Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR):

• Metro Cab and Metro Cars provides taxi and luxury sedan service and several car rental agencies operate rental counters in the airport.
• 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.
• Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) has 3 runways.
• 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.
• In 1997 the new 8,500-foot runway 17/35 was added to allow the airport to continue operations during the $32 million reconstruction of runway 8R/26L, completed in 2001.
• 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.

Facts about Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST):

• There is a plan to build another runway parallel to runway 05/23, so when the current runway undergoes reconstruction, this new runway will handle traffic.
• The closest airport to Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST) is İstanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) ESE of IST.
• Atatürk shares traffic with Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, which is on the Anatolian side of Istanbul, which had annual passenger traffic of just 11.1 million in 2010.
• Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST) has 3 runways.
• Istanbul Atatürk Airport is the main international airport serving Istanbul, Turkey and the biggest airport in Turkey by total number of passengers.
• There are several ways to travel between Atatürk International Airport and the city center.
• Turkish Airlines has its headquarters in the Turkish Airlines General Management Building, located within the airport campus.Onur Air has its headquarters in Technical Hangar B.
• In addition to being known as "Istanbul Atatürk Airport", another name for IST is "İstanbul Atatürk Havalimanı".
• In the 2013 Air Transport News awards ceremony, İstanbul Atatürk Airport was named Airport of the Year.
• The furthest airport from Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,155 miles (17,953 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• TAV started its construction at the airport for new boarding gates at international terminal as well as building a new air traffic control tower.
• Because of Istanbul Atatürk Airport's relatively low elevation of 163 feet, planes can take off or land at Istanbul Atatürk 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.