Nonstop flight route between Lisbon, Portugal and Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS), Lisbon, Portugal and Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR), Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,863 miles (or 6,216 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 Lisbon Portela Airport and Gerald R. Ford 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 Lisbon Portela Airport and Gerald R. Ford 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 Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS):

• Because of Lisbon Portela Airport's relatively low elevation of 374 feet, planes can take off or land at Lisbon Portela 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 Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS) is New Plymouth Airport (NPL), which is nearly antipodal to Lisbon Portela Airport (meaning Lisbon Portela Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from New Plymouth Airport), and is located 12,258 miles (19,727 kilometers) away in New Plymouth, New Zealand.
• In November 2006, the company operating the airport, ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, announced an expansion plan for some airport structures, in order to respond to current passenger traffic growth trends and full capacity use of the airport, originally intended to respond to growth until the new airport was to be finished in 2017.
• Lisbon Portela Airport handled 16,024,955 passengers last year.
• Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS) has 2 runways.
• The airport opened on 15 October 1942 during the Second World War.
• With the long-term concession of ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal to the French group Vinci Airports the project for a new airport was postponed in July 2013, and it was decided that the existing Lisbon Airport would be further upgraded to surpass 20 million passengers annually, and would remain the present solution for this major European gateway.
• The closest airport to Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS) is Beja Airport (BYJ), which is located 81 miles (130 kilometers) SE of LIS.
• In addition to being known as "Lisbon Portela Airport", another name for LIS is "Aeroporto da Portela".

Facts about Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR):

• The airport has two aircraft spotter locations.
• Because of Gerald R. Ford International Airport's relatively low elevation of 794 feet, planes can take off or land at Gerald R. Ford 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.
• In 1959 construction began on the present airport in Cascade Township, several miles east of the original one.
• Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) has 3 runways.
• In January 2012 Southwest Airlines announced it would continue Airtran flights to Grand Rapids and eventually transfer them to Southwest.
• The closest airport to Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) is Park Township Airport (HLM), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) W of GRR.
• Metro Cab and Metro Cars provides taxi and luxury sedan service and several car rental agencies operate rental counters in the airport.
• 81,221,489 pounds of air freight were handled in 2012, representing an increase of 0.6% over the previous year.
• When new baggage screening regulations were introduced by the Transportation Security Administration in 2002, the airport was one of the first in the nation to conduct trials on the new screening machines.
• The furthest airport from Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,165 miles (17,969 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport is the largest commercial airport in the West Michigan region and is the second largest airport in Michigan after Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.