Nonstop flight route between San Diego, California, United States and Funchal, Madeira, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Diego International Airport (SAN), San Diego, California, United States and Madeira Airport (FNC), Funchal, Madeira, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,566 miles (or 8,957 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 San Diego International Airport and Madeira 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 San Diego International Airport and Madeira 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 San Diego International Airport (SAN):

• San Diego International is the busiest single-runway commercial airport in the United States, and the second-busiest single-use runway in the world after London Gatwick with about 550 departures and arrivals carrying 50,000 passengers each day, and a total of 17,250,269 passengers in 2012.
• In addition to being known as "San Diego International Airport", another name for SAN is "Lindbergh Field".
• Because of San Diego International Airport's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at San Diego 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 San Diego International Airport (SAN) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,540 miles (18,571 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to San Diego International Airport (SAN) is NAS North Island (NZY), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of SAN.
• The first scheduled jet flights at Lindbergh Field were in 1960, American Airlines Boeing 720s to Phoenix and United Airlines 720s to San Francisco.
• Plans also outline dedicated I-5 on and off-ramps, and an 'intermodal transit hub' including a Coaster/Amtrak station, a stop for the San Diego Trolley system, and eventually a center for the southern terminus of the California High Speed Rail line.
• San Diego International Airport (SAN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The approach from the east is steeper than most due to terrain which drops from 266 ft to sea level in less than one nautical mile.
• The busiest route by flight count is to Los Angeles with 27 daily round trips on United Express, American Eagle, and Delta Connection.
• The airport is near the site of the Ryan Airlines factory, but it is not the same as Dutch Flats, the Ryan airstrip where Charles Lindbergh flight tested the Spirit of St.

Facts about Madeira Airport (FNC):

• Madeira Airport handled 2,311,380 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Madeira Airport (FNC) is Lord Howe Island Airport (LDH), which is nearly antipodal to Madeira Airport (meaning Madeira Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Lord Howe Island Airport), and is located 12,181 miles (19,604 kilometers) away in Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia.
• Madeira Airport (FNC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Funchal Airport is 13.2 km east-northeast of the regional capital Funchal.
• The closest airport to Madeira Airport (FNC) is Porto Santo Airport (PXO), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) NE of FNC.
• In addition to being known as "Madeira Airport", another name for FNC is "Aeroporto da Madeira".
• Between 1982 and 1986, Madeira's runway was successfully extended by 200 m to a total of 1,800 m, and also four gates were opened.
• Because of Madeira Airport's relatively low elevation of 190 feet, planes can take off or land at Madeira 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.