Nonstop flight route between San Diego, California, United States and Zürich, Switzerland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Diego International Airport (SAN), San Diego, California, United States and Zurich Airport (ZRH), Zürich, Switzerland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,956 miles (or 9,585 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 Zurich 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 Zurich 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):

• Built and operated by the City of San Diego through the sale of municipal bonds to be repaid by airport users, then the San Diego Unified Port District, the airport is now operated by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "San Diego International Airport", another name for SAN is "Lindbergh Field".
• Japan Airlines began service to Tokyo-Narita on December 2, 2012, using the Boeing 787 aircraft.
• San Diego International Airport (SAN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Terrain east and west of the airport greatly impacts the available runway length.
• Pacific Southwest Airlines established its headquarters in San Diego and started service at Lindbergh Field in 1949.
• The Army Air Corps took over the field in 1942, improving it to handle the heavy bombers being manufactured in the region.
• Most takeoffs and landings at SAN are from east to west.

Facts about Zurich Airport (ZRH):

• Zurich Airport (ZRH) has 4 runways.
• The closest airport to Zurich Airport (ZRH) is Emmen Swiss Air Base (EML), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) SSW of ZRH.
• Schengen and non-Schengen arriving passengers are handled in separate areas of the central airside building, with non-Schengen passengers passing through immigration controls to reach the ground-side terminal complex.
• The furthest airport from Zurich Airport (ZRH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Zurich Airport (meaning Zurich Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,087 miles (19,453 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Zurich Airport", another name for ZRH is "Flughafen Zürich".
• Zurich Airport handled 24,865,138 passengers last year.
• The first expansion of the airport was submitted in 1956, but the budget for the expansion was not approved by the Swiss Government until 1958 and the expansion was completed in 1961.
• The airport is served by the A51 motorway and other main roads, which provide access to the airport especially for the central and eastern Switzerland.
• The airport is owned by Flughafen Zürich AG, a company quoted on the SIX Swiss Exchange.