Nonstop flight route between Riverside, California, United States and Helsinki / Vantaa, Finland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL), Riverside, California, United States and Helsinki Airport (HEL), Helsinki / Vantaa, Finland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,583 miles (or 8,986 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 Riverside Municipal Airport and Helsinki 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 Riverside Municipal Airport and Helsinki 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 Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL):

• Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL) has 2 runways.
• Riverside Municipal Airport has been home to Civil Air Patrol Squadron 5 since 2005.
• The crosswind runway, RWY 16-34, is suited for smaller aircraft.
• The runway has ILS, GPS, and VOR approaches.
• The closest airport to Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL) is Flabob Airport (RIR), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NE of RAL.
• The furthest airport from Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,462 miles (18,446 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Because of Riverside Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 818 feet, planes can take off or land at Riverside Municipal 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.

Facts about Helsinki Airport (HEL):

• Originally built for the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, the airport served 15,279,043 passengers in 2013 and it is the fourth largest airport in the Nordic countries.
• Because of Helsinki Airport's relatively low elevation of 179 feet, planes can take off or land at Helsinki 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 airport is the international and domestic hub for Finnair, the Finnish flag carrier.
• The furthest airport from Helsinki Airport (HEL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,992 miles (17,689 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Helsinki Airport", another name for HEL is "Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasemaHelsingfors-Vanda flygplats".
• Helsinki Airport (HEL) has 3 runways.
• Helsinki Airport handled 15,279,043 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Helsinki Airport (HEL) is Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SSE of HEL.
• In 2013 Finavia announced plans to expand the airport to serve up to 20 million passenger by 2020.
• Connecting the airport by frequent local bus 61 of Helsinki Regional Transport Authority or taxi to the Tikkurila railway station provides access to commuter trains as well as to long-distance trains in the directions of Tampere and Lahti, including lines to Saint Petersburg and Moscow.