Nonstop flight route between Chicago, Illinois, United States and Keflavík (near Reykjavík), Iceland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), Chicago, Illinois, United States and Keflavík International Airport (KEF), Keflavík (near Reykjavík), Iceland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,942 miles (or 4,735 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 Chicago Midway International Airport and Keflavík 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 Chicago Midway International Airport and Keflavík 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 Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW):

• Originally named Chicago Air Park, Midway Airport was built on a 320-acre plot in 1923 with one cinder runway mainly for airmail flights.
• Southwest, along with its subsidiary AirTran Airways, is the dominant carrier at Midway, controlling 34 of the airport's 43 gates.
• Simultaneous to Midway's expansion, ATA Airlines began rapid expansion at Midway in the early 2000s, and was the airport's dominant carrier prior to 2004, using 14 of the 17 gates in Concourse A.
• Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) has 5 runways.
• In July 1949 the airport was renamed after the Battle of Midway.
• The furthest airport from Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,083 miles (17,836 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Chicago Midway International Airport's relatively low elevation of 620 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago Midway 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 Midway International Airport (MDW) is Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) NNW of MDW.
• Chicago Midway International Airport, is in Chicago, Illinois, United States, on the city's southwest side, eight miles from the Loop.

Facts about Keflavík International Airport (KEF):

• Keflavík Airport only handles international flights, domestic flights and flights to Greenland and the Faroe Islands are operated from Reykjavík's domestic airport.
• Keflavík International Airport (KEF) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Keflavík International Airport (KEF) is Reykjavík Airport (RKV), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) ENE of KEF.
• The Airport has one terminal named Leifur Eiríksson Air Terminal, named for Leif Ericson.
• The airport was built by the United States military during World War II.
• Because of Keflavík International Airport's relatively low elevation of 171 feet, planes can take off or land at Keflavík 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 10,000-foot-long and 200-foot-wide runways are long enough to support NASA's Space Shuttle and also the Antonov An-225.
• Although the population of Iceland is only about 300,000, there are scheduled flights to and from nine locations in the United States, four in Canada and 31 cities across Europe.
• The furthest airport from Keflavík International Airport (KEF) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,188 miles (18,005 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Keflavík International Airport", another name for KEF is "Keflavíkurflugvöllur".