Nonstop flight route between Louisville, Kentucky, United States and San Francisco, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from LOU to SFO:
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- About this route
- LOU Airport Information
- SFO Airport Information
- Facts about LOU
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- List of Furthest Airports from LOU
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- List of Furthest Airports from SFO
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Bowman Field (LOU), Louisville, Kentucky, United States and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,988 miles (or 3,199 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 relatively short distance between Bowman Field and San Francisco International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
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: | SFO / KSFO |
Airport Name: | San Francisco International Airport |
Location: | San Francisco, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°37'8"N by 122°22'30"W |
Area Served: | San Francisco |
Operator/Owner: | City & County of San Francisco |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 13 feet (4 meters) |
# of Runways: | 4 |
View all routes: | Routes from SFO |
More Information: | SFO Maps & Info |
Facts about Bowman Field (LOU):
- 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.
- The closest airport to Bowman Field (LOU) is Louisville International Airport (SDF), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) SW of LOU.
- Bowman Field (LOU) has 2 runways.
- Bowman Field is a public airport five miles southeast of downtown Louisville, in Jefferson County, Kentucky.
- 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.
- Kentucky Flying Service is no longer in operation.
- The dominant landmark of Bowman Field is its terminal, known as the Administration Building, styled in aerodynamic Moderne.
- During the Great Depression, Louisvillians would often come to the Art Deco terminal building to watch airplanes depart and land as a form of inexpensive entertainment.
- 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.
Facts about San Francisco International Airport (SFO):
- SFO is the largest airport in the Bay Area and the second busiest in California, after Los Angeles International Airport.
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has 4 runways.
- The closest airport to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Half Moon Bay AirportHalf Moon Bay Flight Strip (HAF), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) SW of SFO.
- A long-planned extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system to the airport opened on June 22, 2003, allowing passengers to board BART trains at the international terminal to San Francisco or the East Bay.
- After the war United Airlines used the Pan Am terminal 37°38′05″N 122°23′24″W / 37.6347°N 122.39°W / 37.6347.
- San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
- Before the 1930s, airports used a two-byte abbreviation.
- The furthest airport from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- For lack of space, the terminal was built on top of the airport's main access road at enormous expense, completing the continuous ring of terminals.
- Because of San Francisco International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at San Francisco 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.