Nonstop flight route between San Francisco, California, United States and Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States and Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN), Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,601 miles (or 9,014 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 Francisco International Airport and Cologne/Bonn 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 Francisco International Airport and Cologne/Bonn 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 Francisco International Airport (SFO):

• Terminal 2, formerly known as the "Central Terminal," opened in 1954 as the main airport terminal.
• United Airlines used Mills Field as well as the Oakland Municipal Airport starting in the 1930s.
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has 4 runways.
• The furthest airport from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• SFO has expanded through the decades.
• Because of San Francisco International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at San Francisco 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 closest airport to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Half Moon Bay AirportHalf Moon Bay Flight Strip (HAF), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) SW of SFO.
• For lack of space, the terminal was built on top of the airport's main access road at enormous expense, completing the continuous ring of terminals.
• San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
• The FAA has warned that the airport's control tower would be unable to withstand a major earthquake and has requested that it be replaced.

Facts about Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN):

• Cologne/Bonn Airport handled 9,280,070 passengers last year.
• In April 2014 Ryanair announced the opening of their fifth German base at Cologne/Bonn Airport for October 2014.
• The airport is located in the district of Porz and is surrounded by the Wahner Heide nature reserve.
• The closest airport to Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) is Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), which is located 34 miles (54 kilometers) NNW of CGN.
• The furthest airport from Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,921 miles (19,185 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Cologne/Bonn Airport", another name for CGN is "Flughafen Köln/Bonn".
• Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) has 3 runways.
• In 2006 the Brazilian airline BRA provided a twice a week connection to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, which was discontinued in April 2007 due to problems with the airline.
• Because of Cologne/Bonn Airport's relatively low elevation of 302 feet, planes can take off or land at Cologne/Bonn 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.