Nonstop flight route between Johnston Atoll, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands and Riga, Latvia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Johnston Atoll Airport (JON), Johnston Atoll, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands and Riga International Airport (RIX), Riga, Latvia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,288 miles (or 11,730 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 Johnston Atoll 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 Johnston Atoll 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 Johnston Atoll Airport (JON):

• The closest airport to Johnston Atoll Airport (JON) is PMRF Barking Sands (BKH), which is located 733 miles (1,179 kilometers) ENE of JON.
• Johnston Atoll Airport is located on the Johnston Atoll in the United States Minor Outlying Islands, in the Pacific Ocean several hundred kilometers southwest of Hawaii.
• Johnston Atoll Airport (JON) currently has only 1 runway.
• In July 1942 the civilian contractors at the atoll were replaced by 500 men from the 5th and 10th Naval Construction Battalions, who expanded the fuel storage and water production at the base and built additional facilities.
• The furthest airport from Johnston Atoll Airport (JON) is Lubango Mukanka Airport (SDD), which is nearly antipodal to Johnston Atoll Airport (meaning Johnston Atoll Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Lubango Mukanka Airport), and is located 12,195 miles (19,627 kilometers) away in Lubango, Angola.
• Because of Johnston Atoll Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Johnston Atoll 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.
• In February 1941 Johnston Atoll was designated as a Naval Defensive Sea Area and Airspace Reservation.

Facts about Riga International Airport (RIX):

• The Latvian government plans to build another terminal capable of handling 20 million passengers a year.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Riga International Airport (RIX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Riga International Airport (RIX) is Šiauliai International Airport (SQQ), which is located 74 miles (120 kilometers) SSW of RIX.
• In addition to being known as "Riga International Airport", another name for RIX is "Starptautiskā lidosta “Rīga”".