Nonstop flight route between San Francisco, California, United States and Helsinki / Vantaa, Finland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States and Helsinki Airport (HEL), Helsinki / Vantaa, Finland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,421 miles (or 8,724 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 Helsinki 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 Helsinki 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):

• 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.
• Formerly known as the "South Terminal," Terminal 1 has Boarding Area B and Boarding Area C.
• 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.
• San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
• The airport closed following the Loma Prieta earthquake on October 17, 1989, reopening the following morning.
• Formerly known as the "North Terminal," Terminal 3 has Boarding Area E and Boarding Area F has 26 gates.
• 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.
• SFO was one of several US airports which operated the Registered Traveler program from April 2007 until funding ended in June 2009, which had allowed travelers to pass through security checkpoints quickly.

Facts about Helsinki Airport (HEL):

• Because of Helsinki Airport's relatively low elevation of 179 feet, planes can take off or land at Helsinki 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 following handling agents provide ground handling services for airlines:Airpro, Inter Handling, ISS Aviation, Servisair, Groundpower, Swissport.
• In addition to being known as "Helsinki Airport", another name for HEL is "Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasemaHelsingfors-Vanda flygplats".
• There are regular bus service 615 and 620 to the Helsinki Central railway station in 30–55 minutes, and major hotels and railway stations in the Greater Helsinki Area in 15–120 minutes.
• Coach connections, daytime and overnight, to all parts of Finland are provided by Matkahuolto and ExpressBus.
• Helsinki Airport (HEL) has 3 runways.
• Helsinki Airport handled 15,279,043 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Helsinki Airport (HEL) is Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SSE of HEL.
• The furthest airport from Helsinki Airport (HEL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,992 miles (17,689 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airport is the international and domestic hub for Finnair, the Finnish flag carrier.