Nonstop flight route between Leiden, Netherlands and Chicago, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID), Leiden, Netherlands and Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Chicago, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,101 miles (or 6,600 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 Valkenburg Naval Air Base and Chicago O'Hare 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 Valkenburg Naval Air Base and Chicago O'Hare 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 Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID):

• In March of 2014 Valkenburg was used as the home base for both police and military helicopters providing security during the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit.
• The closest airport to Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID) is Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM), which is located only 15 miles (23 kilometers) S of LID.
• Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,858 miles (19,084 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Construction of the air base was commenced in 1939, but not completed before the start of the Second World War.
• Valkenburg Naval Air Base is a former air base located just south of Valkenburg, which is part of Katwijk and close to the city of Leiden, that was used by the Royal Netherlands Navy up until 2006, being their base for the Lockheed P-3 Orion aircraft.
• In addition to being known as "Valkenburg Naval Air Base", another name for LID is "Vliegkamp Valkenburg".
• Because of Valkenburg Naval Air Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Valkenburg Naval Air Base 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 Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD):

• 1,057 fatalities have occurred as a result of accidents en route to or from O'Hare.
• Commercial passenger flights started in 1955 and by the following year O'Hare was served by American, BOAC, Braniff, Capital, Delta, Eastern, North Central, Pan Am, TWA and United, along with freight airlines Riddle and Slick.
• Because of Chicago O'Hare International Airport's relatively low elevation of 668 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago O'Hare 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 closest airport to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) is Chicago Executive Airport (PWK), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) N of ORD.
• The furthest airport from Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,071 miles (17,817 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• United Airlines is the largest airline at O'Hare, carrying over 45% of all passengers passing through the airport.
• United and American both established nationwide hubs at the airport in the 1980s, which continue to operate today.
• Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) has 8 runways.
• In the 1980s, after deregulation, TWA replaced Chicago with St.