Nonstop flight route between Lakeland, Florida, United States and Sofia, Bulgaria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL), Lakeland, Florida, United States and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF), Sofia, Bulgaria would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,640 miles (or 9,077 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 Lakeland Linder Regional Airport and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna, 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 Lakeland Linder Regional Airport and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna. 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 Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL):

• It was anticipated that the 2013 Federal sequester would result in the closure of the airport's control tower and require pilots to rely on air traffic controllers from other area airports.
• With the closure of Lodwick Aircraft, the city had decided to phase out Lodwick Field as a municipal airport in the summer of 1957 and concentrate its resources on Drane Field in south Lakeland.
• Design of the current 2½ story airside/landside terminal was begun in 1997, with construction comencing in 2000 and completed in late 2001.
• The closest airport to Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL) is Bartow Municipal Airport (BOW), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ESE of LAL.
• Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL) has 2 runways.
• Lakeland Linder Regional Airport covers an area of 1,710 acres at an elevation of 142 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,466 miles (18,453 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport hosts corporate flight operations for the respective national headquarters of the Publix supermarket corporation, its associated PECU Insurance Agency, LLC, and the Watkins Motor Line trucking corporation.
• Because of Lakeland Linder Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 142 feet, planes can take off or land at Lakeland Linder Regional 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 addition to being known as "Lakeland Linder Regional Airport", another name for LAL is "Drane Field".

Facts about Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF):

• On 19 August 2011 in the presence of Ivaylo Moskovski, minister of transport, information technology and communications, the BULATSA director general Diyan Dinev, Glavbolgarstroy AD chief executive director Pavel Kalistratov and Glavbolgarstroy AD executive director and management board member Nina Stoyanova signed the design execution and construction contract between BULATSA and Glavbolgarstroy AD for the new control tower at Sofia Airport.
• A significant and recurring operational criticism of Sofia Airport has concerned its historical lack of all-weather operations capability.
• Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna handled 350,432 passengers last year.
• On 31 August 2006, Sofia Airport put its new runway system into operation, replacing the old and out-of-date facilities.
• The passenger terminal building is designed with a capacity of 2,000 peak hour passengers or up to 2.6 million passengers a year, plus 26,000 tonnes of luggage.
• Design and construction of a new control tower was discussed in 2006 but this project appeared to be in abeyance by 2008.
• The closest airport to Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Plovdiv Airport (PDV), which is located 86 miles (138 kilometers) ESE of SOF.
• The furthest airport from Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,437 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The project for the construction of a new airport control tower at Sofia Airport commenced on 16 June 2006 with a decision of the BULATSA Management Board.
• In addition to being known as "Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna", other names for SOF include "Vrazhdebna Airport" and "Летище София".
• Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) currently has only 1 runway.