Nonstop flight route between San Francisco, California, United States and Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SFO to PLM:
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- About this route
- SFO Airport Information
- PLM Airport Information
- Facts about SFO
- Facts about PLM
- Map of Nearest Airports to SFO
- List of Nearest Airports to SFO
- Map of Furthest Airports from SFO
- List of Furthest Airports from SFO
- Map of Nearest Airports to PLM
- List of Nearest Airports to PLM
- Map of Furthest Airports from PLM
- List of Furthest Airports from PLM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States and Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) (PLM), Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,618 miles (or 13,869 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 Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II), 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 Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II). You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SFO / KSFO |
Airport Name: | San Francisco International Airport |
Location: | San Francisco, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°37'8"N by 122°22'30"W |
Area Served: | San Francisco |
Operator/Owner: | City & County of San Francisco |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 13 feet (4 meters) |
# of Runways: | 4 |
View all routes: | Routes from SFO |
More Information: | SFO Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PLM / WIPP |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia |
GPS Coordinates: | 2°54'1"S by 104°42'0"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Indonesia |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 121 feet (37 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PLM |
More Information: | PLM Maps & Info |
Facts about San Francisco International Airport (SFO):
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has 4 runways.
- 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.
- 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.
- The airport has four terminals and seven concourses arranged in a ring.
- All SkyTeam, Oneworld and non-aligned international carriers operate from Boarding Area A.
- 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 first international nonstops were ANA/BCPA DC-4s to Vancouver in 1946-47.
- 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.
- San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
- 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.
Facts about Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) (PLM):
- Because of Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II)'s relatively low elevation of 121 feet, planes can take off or land at Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) 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.
- In addition to being known as "Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II)", another name for PLM is "Bandar Udara Internasional Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II (SMB II)".
- The closest airport to Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) (PLM) is Sultan Thaha Airport (DJB), which is located 114 miles (183 kilometers) NW of PLM.
- Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) (PLM) currently has only 1 runway.
- When South Sumatra Province was chosen as the host of PON XVI in 2004, the government soughts to enlarge the capacity of the airport as well as change the status into an international airport.
- Between the development undertaken is an extension of the runway along the 300 meters x 60 meters to 3,000 meters x 60 meters, construction vehicle parking area of 20,000 meters which can accommodate 1,000 vehicles as well as the construction of a three-floor passenger terminal covering 13,000 square meters which can accommodate 1,250 passengers, equipped aerobridges and cargo terminals, and other support buildings covering an area of 1900 square meters.
- The furthest airport from Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) (PLM) is Benito Salas Airport (NVA), which is nearly antipodal to Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) (meaning Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Benito Salas Airport), and is located 12,433 miles (20,009 kilometers) away in Neiva, Colombia.