Nonstop flight route between San Jose, California, United States and Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC), San Jose, California, United States and RAF Ascension (ASI), Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,513 miles (or 12,091 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 Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport and RAF Ascension, 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 Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport and RAF Ascension. 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 Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC):

• SJC suffered with many mid-tier airports during the 2008 rise in oil prices as airlines reduced marginal services.
• Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport handled 8,357,384 passengers last year.
• In August 2010, Mexicana Airlines also suspended all flights permanently due to bankruptcy.
• The furthest airport from Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,363 miles (18,287 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Because of Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport's relatively low elevation of 62 feet, planes can take off or land at Norman Y. Mineta San Jose 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.
• There are two terminals at the airport, Terminal A, opened in 1990, and Terminal B, opened in 2010.
• The first honey bees in California were brought to Santa Clara County.
• Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) has 3 runways.
• Despite San Jose being the largest city in the Bay Area, SJC is the smallest of the three Bay Area airline airports, with less than a quarter of the passengers of San Francisco International Airport and fewer passengers than Oakland International Airport.
• The closest airport to Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) is Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County (RHV), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) ESE of SJC.
• In November 2001 the airport was renamed after Norman Yoshio Mineta, a native of San Jose, its former mayor and congressman, former United States Secretary of Commerce and former United States Secretary of Transportation.

Facts about RAF Ascension (ASI):

• The furthest airport from RAF Ascension (ASI) is Ujae Airport (UJE), which is nearly antipodal to RAF Ascension (meaning RAF Ascension is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ujae Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Ujae Atoll, Marshall Islands.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Ascension", another name for ASI is "Wideawake Airbase/Field".
• The closest airport to RAF Ascension (ASI) is Sasstown Airport (SAZ), which is located 965 miles (1,553 kilometers) NNE of ASI.
• The Target Tracking Radar Station was a Nike Zeus test facility for tracking reentry vehicles from Cape Canaveral missile launches.
• The station comes under the overall jurisdiction of the Commander British Forces South Atlantic Islands, an officer of one-star rank.