Nonstop flight route between Chicago, Illinois, United States and Sofia, Bulgaria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), Chicago, Illinois, United States and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF), Sofia, Bulgaria would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,202 miles (or 8,371 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 Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna, 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 Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna. 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):

• 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.
• In November 2008, Porter Airlines, which flies between Midway and Toronto, Canada, was the only international route served from Chicago–Midway after ATA Airlines, which had flights to Mexico, ceased operations in April that year.
• In 2002 Midway welcomed the return of international service after a 40-year absence with the opening of the new Federal Inspection Service facility in Concourse A.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1931 a new passenger terminal opened at 62nd St.
• Southwest, along with its subsidiary AirTran Airways, is the dominant carrier at Midway, controlling 34 of the airport's 43 gates.
• Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) has 5 runways.

Facts about Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF):

• A significant and recurring operational criticism of Sofia Airport has concerned its historical lack of all-weather operations capability.
• The furthest airport from Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,437 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna", other names for SOF include "Vrazhdebna Airport" and "Летище София".
• Lufthansa Technik Sofia was founded in late 2007 as a joint venture between Lufthansa Technik and the Bulgarian Aviation Group.
• The closest airport to Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Plovdiv Airport (PDV), which is located 86 miles (138 kilometers) ESE of SOF.
• Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna handled 350,432 passengers last year.
• The project for the construction of a new airport control tower at Sofia Airport commenced on 16 June 2006 with a decision of the BULATSA Management Board.
• On 19 August 2011 in the presence of Ivaylo Moskovski, minister of transport, information technology and communications, the BULATSA director general Diyan Dinev, Glavbolgarstroy AD chief executive director Pavel Kalistratov and Glavbolgarstroy AD executive director and management board member Nina Stoyanova signed the design execution and construction contract between BULATSA and Glavbolgarstroy AD for the new control tower at Sofia Airport.
• The initial completion deadline for the new terminal was 15 December 2004 to a total budget of 112.2 million euro.
• The terminal had substantially reached its capacity of some 600,000 passengers a year by the later 1960s and was subjected to a number of refurbishments and extensions beginning in the spring of 1968.
• Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) currently has only 1 runway.