Nonstop flight route between Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina, United States and Sofia, Bulgaria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU), Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina, United States and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF), Sofia, Bulgaria would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,130 miles (or 8,255 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 Raleigh–Durham International Airport and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna, 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 Raleigh–Durham International Airport and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna. 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 Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU):

• After World War II Capital Airlines joined Eastern at RDU.
• Because of Raleigh–Durham International Airport's relatively low elevation of 435 feet, planes can take off or land at Raleigh–Durham 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 Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,639 miles (18,731 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Raleigh–Durham International Airport is a public international airport 4.5 miles northeast of the town of Morrisville in Wake County, North Carolina.
• In the 1970s, the last decade before airline deregulation, Piedmont connected RDU to Charlotte, Greensboro, New Bern, Norfolk, Richmond, Rocky Mount, Washington, Wilmington and Winston-Salem.
• The region's first airport opened in 1929 as Raleigh's Municipal Airport, just south of what is now downtown.
• Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) is Triangle North Executive Airport (Franklin County Airport) (LFN), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) ENE of RDU.
• Midway Airlines replaced AA as the airport's hub carrier from 1995 until 2003.
• The new Raleigh–Durham Airport opened on May 1, 1943 with flights by Eastern Airlines.
• In February 2011 Continental Airlines commenced its first international flight from RDU, to Cancún.
• The airport has implemented the most ambitious expansion in its history, begun in 2006 and completed in January 2011.

Facts about Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF):

• Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna handled 350,432 passengers last year.
• Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) currently has only 1 runway.
• Design and construction of a new control tower was discussed in 2006 but this project appeared to be in abeyance by 2008.
• The new Sofia tower will be situated to the west of Terminal 2 and will be complementing the terminal building in architectural terms.
• The furthest airport from Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,437 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna", other names for SOF include "Vrazhdebna Airport" and "Летище София".
• Two de-icing platforms are constructed to allow centralised de-icing procedures in winter.
• The closest airport to Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Plovdiv Airport (PDV), which is located 86 miles (138 kilometers) ESE of SOF.