Nonstop flight route between Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Piarco (near Port of Spain), Trinidad and Tobago:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santos Dumont Airport (SDU), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Piarco International Airport (POS), Piarco (near Port of Spain), Trinidad and Tobago would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,621 miles (or 4,219 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 Piarco 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 Santos Dumont Airport and Piarco 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 Santos Dumont Airport (SDU):

• On 21 May 1959 a formal agreement between Varig, Cruzeiro do Sul, and VASP created an air shuttle service, the first of its kind in the world.
• Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Santos Dumont Airport", another name for SDU is "Aeroporto Santos Dumont".
• It was announced on 5 August 2009 that in order to renew its operational licence the Rio de Janeiro State Environment Institute – INEA would require Santos Dumont Airport to adjust operational standards.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 26 May 2007, in time for the 2007 Pan American Games, a brand-new, modern extension of the original terminal was opened.
• Due to a fire that almost destroyed the main terminal in 1999, the passenger terminal building was closed for 6 months.
• With the gradual shift of international operations to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão Airport opened in 1952, Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont lost its place as an international hub, but for many years retained its position of a major hub for domestic traffic, particularly until 1960, when the capital of Brazil was moved to Brasília.
• On 31 August 2009, Infraero unveiled a BRL152.2 million investment plan to upgrade Santos Dumont Airport, particularly the passenger arrivals terminal.
• Santos Dumont Airport handled 9,204,603 passengers last year.

Facts about Piarco International Airport (POS):

• The closest airport to Piarco International Airport (POS) is A.N.R. Robinson International Airport (TAB), which is located 51 miles (83 kilometers) NE of POS.
• Because of Piarco International Airport's relatively low elevation of 58 feet, planes can take off or land at Piarco 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.
• Piarco Airport opened on 8 January 1931, to serve Venezuela's Compagnie Generale Aeropostale.
• Piarco International Airport, the busiest of many airports serving Trinidad and Tobago, is located in Piarco, a town in the Port of Spain Metro Area in the southern area of the Tunapuna-Piarco region, about 25 km east of Port of Spain's central business district.
• In addition to being known as "Piarco International Airport", another name for POS is "78970[1][2]".
• The furthest airport from Piarco International Airport (POS) is Umbu Mehang Kunda Airport (WGP), which is nearly antipodal to Piarco International Airport (meaning Piarco International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Umbu Mehang Kunda Airport), and is located 12,308 miles (19,808 kilometers) away in Waingapu, Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.
• The control tower at the old terminal building is currently used for air traffic control.
• The new North Terminal consists of 35,964 m2 of building with 14-second-level aircraft gates for international flights and 2 ground level domestic gates.
• Piarco International Airport (POS) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to passenger airlines, the airport also handles cargo traffic, general aviation, military and helicopter flights to the many oil rigs present offshore.