Nonstop flight route between Istanbul, Turkey and Los Angeles, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST), Istanbul, Turkey and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Los Angeles, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,856 miles (or 11,034 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 Istanbul Atatürk Airport and Los Angeles 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 Istanbul Atatürk Airport and Los Angeles 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 Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST) has 3 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Istanbul Atatürk Airport", another name for IST is "İstanbul Atatürk Havalimanı".

Facts about Los Angeles International Airport (LAX):

• Before the 1930s, existing airports used a two-letter abbreviation based on the weather stations at the airports.
• On April 29, 1992, the airport closed for violence and cleanup after the 1992 Los Angeles Riots over the Rodney King beating.
• Since the 1920s, a neighborhood called Surfridge had been on the coastline west of the airport, part of the larger community of Palisades del Rey along with the neighborhood to the north now known as Playa del Rey.
• Los Angeles International Airport handled 66,667,619 passengers last year.
• In 1958, the architecture firm Pereira & Luckman was contracted to plan the re-design of the airport for the "jet age".
• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has 4 runways.
• The furthest airport from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,487 miles (18,487 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The airport closed again on January 17, 1994 after the Northridge earthquake.
• The closest airport to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) ESE of LAX.
• It is illegal to limit the number of passengers that use an airport, but in December 2005 the city agreed to limit the passenger gates to 163.
• Because of Los Angeles International Airport's relatively low elevation of 126 feet, planes can take off or land at Los Angeles 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.
• The April 1957 Official Airline Guide showed 66 weekday departures on United Airlines, 32 American Airlines, 32 Western Airlines, 27 TWA, nine Southwest, five Bonanza Air Lines and three Mexicana Airlines.