Nonstop flight route between Pinellas County, Florida (near St. Petersburg and Clearwater), United States and Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE), Pinellas County, Florida (near St. Petersburg and Clearwater), United States and Gran Canaria Airport (LPA), Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,051 miles (or 6,519 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 St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport and Gran Canaria 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 St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport and Gran Canaria 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 St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE):

• Because of St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at St. Pete–Clearwater 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.
• This historic event marked the beginning of commercial air transportation anywhere in the world and is commemorated by a replica of the Benoist aircraft and a plaque at the airport terminal baggage claim area.
• The airport includes a 24-hour airport rescue and fire-fighting department, facilities, operations, engineering, security, and administrative personnel.
• After World War II, the airport property was returned to Pinellas County by the U.S.
• St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) has 4 runways.
• The furthest airport from St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,426 miles (18,388 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• With the advent of the Jet age, the airport's runway was extended northward into Tampa Bay and the first commercial jet service to PIE was operated by Northwest.
• The closest airport to St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) is Clearwater Air Park (CLW), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NW of PIE.
• The 304th Fighter Squadron, a combat training unit of the 337th Fighter Group based P-40 Warhawks and, later, P-51 Mustangs at Pinellas Army Airfield for the duration of World War II.

Facts about Gran Canaria Airport (LPA):

• In 1946, the old passenger terminal opened, which took two years to build.
• The furthest airport from Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) is Norfolk Island Airport (NLK), which is nearly antipodal to Gran Canaria Airport (meaning Gran Canaria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Norfolk Island Airport), and is located 12,221 miles (19,667 kilometers) away in Norfolk Island, Australia.
• In October 1991, the terminal was enlarged with improved facilities so it could handle more passengers.
• Because of Gran Canaria Airport's relatively low elevation of 78 feet, planes can take off or land at Gran Canaria 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.
• Gran Canaria's main motorway GC1 runs past the airport providing transport links to Las Palmas in the North and to the tourist resorts in the South.
• In addition to being known as "Gran Canaria Airport", another name for LPA is "Aeropuerto de Gran Canaria".
• The Canary Islands Air Command is based in the city of Las Palmas.
• In December 2010, low cost carrier Ryanair announced the opening of 3 new bases on the Canary Islands.
• Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) has 2 runways.
• In 2011 it handled over 10.5 million passengers, an 11.1% increase compared to 2010, and 23,7 million tonnes of cargo.
• The closest airport to Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) is Tenerife North Airport (TFN), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) WNW of LPA.
• Gran Canaria Airport handled 9,770,253 passengers last year.