Nonstop flight route between Avarua, Cook Islands and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rarotonga International Airport (RAR), Avarua, Cook Islands and Santos Dumont Airport (SDU), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,195 miles (or 11,580 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 Rarotonga International Airport and Santos Dumont 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 Rarotonga International Airport and Santos Dumont 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 Rarotonga International Airport (RAR):

• Air New Zealand Airbus A320 awaiting passengers at Rarotonga International
• Air New Zealand Boeing 777 at Rarotonga
• Because of Rarotonga International Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at Rarotonga 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 furthest airport from Rarotonga International Airport (RAR) is Faya-Largeau Airport (FYT), which is nearly antipodal to Rarotonga International Airport (meaning Rarotonga International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Faya-Largeau Airport), and is located 12,199 miles (19,632 kilometers) away in Faya-Largeau, Chad.
• The closest airport to Rarotonga International Airport (RAR) is Mangaia Island Airport (MGS), which is located 131 miles (211 kilometers) ESE of RAR.
• Rarotonga International Airport (RAR) currently has only 1 runway.
• An $8.5m reconstruction project commenced in 2009 to revamp and expand the existing terminal facilities.

Facts about Santos Dumont Airport (SDU):

• In 1934, in order to handle a growing amount of land operations, land was reclaimed from the sea to create the first runway of the airport with a length of 1,300 feet.
• The closest airport to Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) is Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NW of SDU.
• Santos Dumont Airport handled 9,204,603 passengers last year.
• The airport is located adjacent to downtown Rio de Janeiro.
• The furthest airport from Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is nearly antipodal to Santos Dumont Airport (meaning Santos Dumont Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2), and is located 12,125 miles (19,513 kilometers) away in Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan.
• On 26 May 2007, in time for the 2007 Pan American Games, a brand-new, modern extension of the original terminal was opened.
• Because of Santos Dumont Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Santos Dumont 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 addition to being known as "Santos Dumont Airport", another name for SDU is "Aeroporto Santos Dumont".
• In 2012, the airport was ranked 6th in terms of transported passengers and aircraft operations, placing it amongst the busiest airports in the country.
• With the gradual shift of international operations to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão Airport opened in 1952, Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont lost its place as an international hub, but for many years retained its position of a major hub for domestic traffic, particularly until 1960, when the capital of Brazil was moved to Brasília.
• Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) has 2 runways.