Nonstop flight route between New York City, New York, United States and Riga, Latvia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), New York City, New York, United States and Riga International Airport (RIX), Riga, Latvia would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,192 miles (or 6,746 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 John F. Kennedy International Airport and Riga 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 John F. Kennedy International Airport and Riga 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 John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK):

• John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) has 4 runways.
• JFK was designed for aircraft up to 300,000-pound gross weight and had to be modified in the late 1960s to accommodate Boeing 747s.
• The closest airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) is Flushing Airport (closed 1984) (FLU), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) NNW of JFK.
• Because of John F. Kennedy International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at John F. Kennedy 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 terminal buildings, with the exception of the former Tower Air terminal, are arranged in a deformed U-shaped wavy pattern around a central area containing parking, a power plant, and other airport facilities.
• The furthest airport from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,764 miles (18,933 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• John F. Kennedy International Airport handled 50,423,765 passengers last year.
• Over seventy airlines operate out of JFK.
• Terminal 5 opened in 2008 for JetBlue Airways, the manager and primary tenant of the building, and serves as the base of their large JFK hub.

Facts about Riga International Airport (RIX):

• Because of Riga International Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Riga 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 airport was built in 1973 as an alternative to Spilve Airport, which had become outdated.
• In addition to being known as "Riga International Airport", another name for RIX is "Starptautiskā lidosta “Rīga”".
• As the Latvian government may be backing out of the state-financed plan to build the 20 million passenger capable terminal, airBaltic is now planning, by 2014, to build for its own exclusive use a second terminal which can handle 40 planes and 5000 passengers per hour, equivalent to about 7.5 million passengers per year, located next to the current terminal, while leaving the current terminal for all other airlines to use.
• Riga International Airport (RIX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Riga International Airport is the international airport of Riga, the capital of Latvia, and the largest airport in the Baltic states with direct flights to over 80 destinations in 30 countries.
• The furthest airport from Riga International Airport (RIX) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,169 miles (17,975 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Riga International Airport (RIX) is Šiauliai International Airport (SQQ), which is located 74 miles (120 kilometers) SSW of RIX.
• Renovation and modernization of the airport was completed in 2001, coinciding with the 800th anniversary of the founding of the city.