Nonstop flight route between San Francisco, California, United States and Istanbul, Turkey:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States and Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST), Istanbul, Turkey would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,709 miles (or 10,798 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 Istanbul Atatürk 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 Istanbul Atatürk 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):

• A long-planned extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system to the airport opened on June 22, 2003, allowing passengers to board BART trains at the international terminal to San Francisco or the East Bay.
• 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.
• AirTrain is the airport's people-mover system.
• 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.
• After the war United Airlines used the Pan Am terminal 37°38′05″N 122°23′24″W / 37.6347°N 122.39°W / 37.6347.
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has 4 runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• Before the 1930s, airports used a two-byte abbreviation.
• San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
• Formerly known as the "South Terminal," Terminal 1 has Boarding Area B and Boarding Area C.
• The first international nonstops were ANA/BCPA DC-4s to Vancouver in 1946-47.

Facts about Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST):

• The airport terminals have been operated by TAV since January 2000.
• In addition to being known as "Istanbul Atatürk Airport", another name for IST is "İstanbul Atatürk Havalimanı".
• Inaugurated in 2000, the new international terminal is an efficient and modern terminal.
• Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST) has 3 runways.
• A third big airport is being planned in order to meet Istanbul's growing domestic and international air traffic demand as a source, destination and transit point.
• The closest airport to Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST) is İstanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) ESE of IST.
• The Turkish Chamber of Civil Engineers lists Atatürk International Airport as one of the fifty civil engineering feats in Turkey, a list of remarkable engineering projects completed in the first 50 years of the chamber's existence.
• The furthest airport from Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,155 miles (17,953 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• Because of Istanbul Atatürk Airport's relatively low elevation of 163 feet, planes can take off or land at Istanbul Atatürk 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.