Nonstop flight route between Riga, Latvia and Chengdu, Sichuan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Riga International Airport (RIX), Riga, Latvia and Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU), Chengdu, Sichuan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,109 miles (or 6,612 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 Chengdu Shuangliu 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 Chengdu Shuangliu 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• AirBaltic has its head office on the property of Riga Airport.
• Riga International Airport (RIX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Riga International Airport (RIX) is Šiauliai International Airport (SQQ), which is located 74 miles (120 kilometers) SSW of RIX.
• 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.
• Renovation and modernization of the airport was completed in 2001, coinciding with the 800th anniversary of the founding of the city.
• The airport was built in 1973 as an alternative to Spilve Airport, which had become outdated.
• In addition to being known as "Riga International Airport", another name for RIX is "Starptautiskā lidosta “Rīga”".

Facts about Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU):

• The closest airport to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) is Mianyang Nanjiao Airport (MIG), which is located 75 miles (121 kilometers) NE of CTU.
• In addition to being known as "Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport", other names for CTU include "成都双流国际机场" and "Chéngdū Shuāngliú Guójì Jīchǎng".
• Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport handled 31,500,000 passengers last year.
• The construction of its second runway started from late 2008 and has started service in December 2009.
• Terminal 2 under construction
• The furthest airport from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is nearly antipodal to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (meaning Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from La Florida Airport), and is located 12,144 miles (19,543 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.
• One of the lifts of Terminal 2, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.
• During World War II, the airport was known as Shwangliu Airfield and was later used by the United States Army Air Forces Fourteenth Air Force as part of the China Defensive Campaign.
• Inside of Terminal 2, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.
• Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) has 2 runways.