Nonstop flight route between Louisville, Kentucky, United States and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from LOU to SDU:
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- About this route
- LOU Airport Information
- SDU Airport Information
- Facts about LOU
- Facts about SDU
- Map of Nearest Airports to LOU
- List of Nearest Airports to LOU
- Map of Furthest Airports from LOU
- List of Furthest Airports from LOU
- Map of Nearest Airports to SDU
- List of Nearest Airports to SDU
- Map of Furthest Airports from SDU
- List of Furthest Airports from SDU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Bowman Field (LOU), Louisville, Kentucky, United States and Santos Dumont Airport (SDU), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,043 miles (or 8,116 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 Bowman Field and Santos Dumont 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 Bowman Field and Santos Dumont Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LOU / KLOU |
Airport Name: | Bowman Field |
Location: | Louisville, Kentucky, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°13'41"N by 85°39'48"W |
Area Served: | Louisville, Kentucky |
Operator/Owner: | Louisville Regional Airport Authority (LRAA) |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 546 feet (166 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from LOU |
More Information: | LOU Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SDU / SBRJ |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
GPS Coordinates: | 22°54'37"S by 43°9'46"W |
Area Served: | Rio de Janeiro |
Operator/Owner: | Infraero |
Airport Type: | Public/Military |
Elevation: | 11 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from SDU |
More Information: | SDU Maps & Info |
Facts about Bowman Field (LOU):
- Because of Bowman Field's relatively low elevation of 546 feet, planes can take off or land at Bowman Field 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.
- Bowman Field (LOU) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Bowman Field (LOU) is Louisville International Airport (SDF), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) SW of LOU.
- Charles Lindbergh landed the Spirit of St.
- The furthest airport from Bowman Field (LOU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,243 miles (18,093 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- During the 1920s and 1930s, Eastern Air Lines, Trans World Airlines and the original Continental Airlines operated passenger and mail service in and out of Bowman Field.
- In 1988 three adjacent buildings at the airport were added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Bowman Field Historic District.
- Bowman Field is Kentucky's first commercial airport and is the oldest continually operating commercial airfield in North America.
- Bowman Field is operated by the Louisville Regional Airport Authority, which also operates Louisville International Airport.
Facts about Santos Dumont Airport (SDU):
- In 2012, the airport was ranked 6th in terms of transported passengers and aircraft operations, placing it amongst the busiest airports in the country.
- In addition to being known as "Santos Dumont Airport", another name for SDU is "Aeroporto Santos Dumont".
- Because of Santos Dumont Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Santos Dumont 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.
- Over the years, the airport's main runway has been extended several times, first to 2,300 feet, then to 3,000 feet, and finally 4,340 feet.
- Bus 016 is a circular service between Santos Dumont Airport and downtown area, particularly Cinelândia Subway station.
- Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) has 2 runways.
- There are taxis available.
- Due to a fire that almost destroyed the main terminal in 1999, the passenger terminal building was closed for 6 months.
- On 21 May 1959 a formal agreement between Varig, Cruzeiro do Sul, and VASP created an air shuttle service, the first of its kind in the world.
- The furthest airport from Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is nearly antipodal to Santos Dumont Airport (meaning Santos Dumont Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2), and is located 12,125 miles (19,513 kilometers) away in Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan.
- The closest airport to Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) is Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NW of SDU.
- Santos Dumont Airport handled 9,204,603 passengers last year.