Nonstop flight route between Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Bedford, Massachusetts, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santos Dumont Airport (SDU), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED), Bedford, Massachusetts, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,860 miles (or 7,822 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 Santos Dumont Airport and Laurence G. Hanscom Field, 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 Santos Dumont Airport and Laurence G. Hanscom Field. 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 Santos Dumont Airport (SDU):

• The airport is located adjacent to downtown Rio de Janeiro.
• On 31 August 2009, Infraero unveiled a BRL152.2 million investment plan to upgrade Santos Dumont Airport, particularly the passenger arrivals terminal.
• Because of Santos Dumont Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Santos Dumont 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.
• Santos Dumont Airport handled 9,204,603 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Santos Dumont Airport", another name for SDU is "Aeroporto Santos Dumont".
• In 1934, in order to handle a growing amount of land operations, land was reclaimed from the sea to create the first runway of the airport with a length of 1,300 feet.
• Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) is Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NW of SDU.
• The furthest airport from Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is nearly antipodal to Santos Dumont Airport (meaning Santos Dumont Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2), and is located 12,125 miles (19,513 kilometers) away in Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan.
• Over the years, the airport's main runway has been extended several times, first to 2,300 feet, then to 3,000 feet, and finally 4,340 feet.

Facts about Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED):

• On August 8, 1962, a US Air Force KC-135 tanker crashed on approach to Hanscom Field's runway 11, destroying the aircraft and killing all three members of the flight crew.
• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 8,385 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 7,350 in 2009, and 7,952 in 2010.
• In addition to being known as "Laurence G. Hanscom Field", another name for BED is "Hanscom Air Force Base".
• In 2008, and many years prior, Hanscom has handled the second most aircraft movements of any airport in New England.
• The furthest airport from Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,753 miles (18,914 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED) is Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) ESE of BED.
• Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED) has 2 runways.
• Because of Laurence G. Hanscom Field's relatively low elevation of 132 feet, planes can take off or land at Laurence G. Hanscom Field 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.
• From 1999 until 2003, Shuttle America, a Connecticut-based regional airline operating for US Airways Express, operated scheduled service from the airfield, carrying more than 10,000 passengers each month to airports in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania using De Havilland Dash 8 and Saab 340 aircraft.
• In December 2006, pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka held negotiations with the Boston Red Sox on board a private jet owned by John Henry.