Nonstop flight route between Riga, Latvia and Buffalo, New York, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Riga International Airport (RIX), Riga, Latvia and Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF), Buffalo, New York, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,223 miles (or 6,796 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 Riga International Airport and Buffalo Niagara 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 Riga International Airport and Buffalo Niagara International 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 Riga International Airport (RIX):

• AirBaltic has its head office on the property of Riga Airport.
• The closest airport to Riga International Airport (RIX) is Šiauliai International Airport (SQQ), which is located 74 miles (120 kilometers) SSW of RIX.
• In addition to being known as "Riga International Airport", another name for RIX is "Starptautiskā lidosta “Rīga”".
• The airport is located in the Mārupe municipality 5.4 NM west of Riga and is a state-owned joint-stock company, with the owner of all shares being the government of Latvia.
• In 2006, the new north terminal extension was opened.
• 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.
• 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.
• Riga International Airport (RIX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Riga International Airport is the international airport of Riga, the capital of Latvia, and the largest airport in the Baltic states with direct flights to over 80 destinations in 30 countries.
• 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.

Facts about Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF):

• The new terminal opened on November 3, 1997 with 15 gates.
• The furthest airport from Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,465 miles (18,452 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Buffalo Niagara International Airport's relatively low elevation of 728 feet, planes can take off or land at Buffalo Niagara 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.
• In 2008 some local residents made a short-lived attempt to rename the airport to "Buffalo Tim Russert International Airport" after a popular news commentator and a Buffalo native Tim Russert who had died that year.
• US Airways operates a US Airways Club near Gate 6.
• The closest airport to Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) is Niagara Falls International Airport (IAG), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) NW of BUF.
• The proximity of Buffalo Niagara International Airport to the 8.4 million residents of Ontario's Golden Horseshoe region makes it a very popular airport for Canadians traveling to U.S.
• In 1991 it was decided that it was no longer economically viable to keep renovating and expanding the dated terminals, and an all-new terminal was needed.
• Buffalo Niagara International Airport handled 5,118,000 passengers last year.
• Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) has 2 runways.