Nonstop flight route between Rochester, Kent, England, United Kingdom and Riga, Latvia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rochester Airport (RCS), Rochester, Kent, England, United Kingdom and Riga International Airport (RIX), Riga, Latvia would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,019 miles (or 1,639 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 relatively short distance between Rochester Airport and Riga International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Rochester Airport (RCS):

• An invitation to tender was issued and the existing operator became the preferred bidder after the closing date of 12 March 2013.
• The furthest airport from Rochester Airport (RCS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,897 miles (19,146 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Rochester Airport's relatively low elevation of 426 feet, planes can take off or land at Rochester 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 1999 a group of aviators and local businessmen at Rochester formed a company dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the long tradition of aviation at Rochester Airport, its service to the local community and for its longer term preservation.
• In 1934-5 Short Brothers took over the Rochester Airport site when they moved some of their personnel from the existing seaplane works.
• Rochester Airport (RCS) has 3 runways.
• The inaugural flight into Rochester was from Gravesend, with John Parker flying their Short Scion, G-ACJI, powered by a Pobjoy engine.
• The closest airport to Rochester Airport (RCS) is London Southend Airport (SEN), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) NNE of RCS.
• Passenger flights to and from the continent expanded in the 1950s and 60's using Douglas DC-3s and de Havilland Doves operated by Channel Airways but with stringent requirement of the Civil Aviation Authority, operators had to re-locate from Rochester.

Facts about Riga International Airport (RIX):

• The airport was built in 1973 as an alternative to Spilve Airport, which had become outdated.
• Riga International Airport (RIX) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Riga International Airport", another name for RIX is "Starptautiskā lidosta “Rīga”".
• As the Latvian government may be backing out of the state-financed plan to build the 20 million passenger capable terminal, airBaltic is now planning, by 2014, to build for its own exclusive use a second terminal which can handle 40 planes and 5000 passengers per hour, equivalent to about 7.5 million passengers per year, located next to the current terminal, while leaving the current terminal for all other airlines to use.
• The furthest airport from Riga International Airport (RIX) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,169 miles (17,975 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Riga International Airport (RIX) is Šiauliai International Airport (SQQ), which is located 74 miles (120 kilometers) SSW of RIX.
• Because of Riga International Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Riga 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.