Nonstop flight route between Sanford, Florida (near Orlando), United States and Bilbao, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Orlando/Sanford International Airport (SFB), Sanford, Florida (near Orlando), United States and Bilbao Airport (BIO), Bilbao, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,330 miles (or 6,968 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 Orlando/Sanford International Airport and Bilbao 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 Orlando/Sanford International Airport and Bilbao 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 Orlando/Sanford International Airport (SFB):

• Because of Orlando/Sanford International Airport's relatively low elevation of 55 feet, planes can take off or land at Orlando/Sanford 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.
• Additional name changes followed, to include Sanford Regional Airport, Central Florida Regional Airport, Orlando Sanford Regional Airport and the current Orlando Sanford International Airport.
• Orlando/Sanford International Airport (SFB) has 4 runways.
• The dominant runway is 9L/27R.
• The closest airport to Orlando/Sanford International Airport (SFB) is Orlando Executive Airport (ORL), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) SSW of SFB.
• The furthest airport from Orlando/Sanford International Airport (SFB) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,507 miles (18,518 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• The City of Sanford assumed control of the former NAS Sanford in 1969 and renamed the facility Sanford Airport, hiring the air station's recently retired Executive Officer, Commander J.

Facts about Bilbao Airport (BIO):

• Bilbao Airport handled 3,800,789 passengers last year.
• The construction works commenced during the Civil War but during this time and until June 1937 the airport was only used as a base for military activities.
• The closest airport to Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport (VIT), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) SSE of BIO.
• Because of Bilbao Airport's relatively low elevation of 137 feet, planes can take off or land at Bilbao 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 Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Hood Aerodrome (MRO), which is nearly antipodal to Bilbao Airport (meaning Bilbao Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hood Aerodrome), and is located 12,260 miles (19,730 kilometers) away in Masterton, New Zealand.
• Bilbao Airport (BIO) has 2 runways.
• Users of the airport widely complained about its lack of an arrivals area, since once passengers cleared customs, they stepped directly outside, and there they were often exposed to the elements.
• In addition to being known as "Bilbao Airport", another name for BIO is "Bilboko aireportua (eu) Aeropuerto de Bilbao (es)".
• In February 2009 plans were announced to expand the terminal building, the facilities and the car parking so as to double the current capacity to 8 million passengers.