Nonstop flight route between San Francisco, California, United States and Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States and Hannover Airport (HAJ), Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,579 miles (or 8,979 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 Hannover 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 Hannover 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):

• SFO experiences delays in overcast weather when only two of the airport's four runways can be used at a time because the centerlines of the parallel runways are only 750 feet apart.
• 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.
• 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.
• Before the 1930s, airports used a two-byte abbreviation.
• The airport has four terminals and seven concourses arranged in a ring.
• San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
• 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.
• The first international nonstops were ANA/BCPA DC-4s to Vancouver in 1946-47.
• On May 12, 2008, a $383 million renovation project was announced that included a new control tower, the use of green materials, and a seismic retrofit.

Facts about Hannover Airport (HAJ):

• Hannover Flughafen railway station is located beneath Terminal C and features frequent services of S-Bahn line S5 to Hannover city centre.
• Hannover Airport has struggled to generate increased demand in recent years, possibly due to an apparent reluctance or inability to entice Europe's low-cost carriers to serve the airport.
• In addition to being known as "Hannover Airport", another name for HAJ is "Flughafen Hannover-Langenhagen".
• The closest airport to Hannover Airport (HAJ) is Celle Air Base (ZCN), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) ENE of HAJ.
• In 1998 the larger terminal C was opened to handle more passengers, adding 8 more gates.
• As of November 2013 concourse A is closed for refurbishment scheduled until July 2014.
• Hannover Airport (HAJ) has 3 runways.
• Because of Hannover Airport's relatively low elevation of 183 feet, planes can take off or land at Hannover 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 Hannover Airport (HAJ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,776 miles (18,952 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.