Nonstop flight route between Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom and San Diego, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from PIK to SAN:
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- About this route
- PIK Airport Information
- SAN Airport Information
- Facts about PIK
- Facts about SAN
- Map of Nearest Airports to PIK
- List of Nearest Airports to PIK
- Map of Furthest Airports from PIK
- List of Furthest Airports from PIK
- Map of Nearest Airports to SAN
- List of Nearest Airports to SAN
- Map of Furthest Airports from SAN
- List of Furthest Airports from SAN
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK), Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom and San Diego International Airport (SAN), San Diego, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,166 miles (or 8,314 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 Glasgow-Prestwick Airport and San Diego 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 Glasgow-Prestwick Airport and San Diego International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PIK / EGPK |
Airport Name: | Glasgow-Prestwick Airport |
Location: | Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 55°30'33"N by 4°35'39"W |
Area Served: | Glasgow, Prestwick, Strathclyde, Scotland |
Operator/Owner: | Scottish Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 65 feet (20 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from PIK |
More Information: | PIK Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SAN / KSAN |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | San Diego, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 32°44'0"N by 117°11'22"W |
Area Served: | Greater San Diego |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 17 feet (5 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SAN |
More Information: | SAN Maps & Info |
Facts about Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK):
- Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) has 2 runways.
- On 6 July 2005, Prestwick Airport became the entry point for the participants in the 31st G8 summit held in Gleneagles.
- The closest airport to Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) is Glasgow International Airport (GLA), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) NNE of PIK.
- On 8 March 2012 the airport owner Infratil announced that they had placed the airfield up for sale.
- Glasgow-Prestwick Airport handled 1,145,836 passengers last year.
- In response, Mark Rodwell, chief executive of Prestwick Airport, told BBC Radio Scotland, that until it was proved otherwise Prestwick Airport remains the only place in the United Kingdom that Elvis Presley ever set foot.
- The United States Air Force operated a base in 1952 on the site of the original airport using former Royal Air Force facilities 1631st Air Base Squadron), and in 1953 on the Monkton side of the airport, both used by the USAF MATS.
- The furthest airport from Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,764 miles (18,932 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
- Today, part of the Prestwick site is occupied by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm with RNAS Prestwick, where a detachment of 3 Sea Kings provide a search and rescue role, covering one of the largest SAR areas of the UK including Ben Nevis, the Lakes, Northern Ireland and 200 NM past the Irish coast.
- Because of Glasgow-Prestwick Airport's relatively low elevation of 65 feet, planes can take off or land at Glasgow-Prestwick 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.
- Scottish Aviation built a factory using the original terminal building and hangars at Prestwick, which from 1974 produced such aircraft as the Prestwick Pioneers, and later the Jetstream and Bulldog.
- Glasgow Prestwick Airport is Glasgow's second airport, it also serves the Greater Glasgow urban area, situated 1 nautical mile Northeast of the town of Prestwick in South Ayrshire and 32 mi from the city centre of Glasgow.
Facts about San Diego International Airport (SAN):
- British Airways resumed nonstop service to London Heathrow Airport on June 1, 2011 with Boeing 777-200ERs.
- San Diego International Airport (SAN) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from San Diego International Airport (SAN) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,540 miles (18,571 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Because of San Diego International Airport's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at San Diego 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 first scheduled jet flights at Lindbergh Field were in 1960, American Airlines Boeing 720s to Phoenix and United Airlines 720s to San Francisco.
- In addition to being known as "San Diego International Airport", another name for SAN is "Lindbergh Field".
- San Diego International Airport, also known as Lindbergh Field, is a public airport 3 mi northwest of downtown San Diego, California, 15 mi from the Mexico – United States border at Tijuana, Mexico.
- Inspired by Lindbergh's flight and excited to have made his plane, the city of San Diego passed a bond issue in 1928 for the construction of a two-runway municipal airport.
- The top five airlines by market share in 2011 are Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and Alaska Airlines.
- The closest airport to San Diego International Airport (SAN) is NAS North Island (NZY), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of SAN.
- Landing at the airport from the east offers closeup views of skyscrapers, Petco Park, and the Coronado Bridge from the left side of the aircraft.