Nonstop flight route between San Jose, California, United States and Groningen / Eelde, Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC), San Jose, California, United States and Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ), Groningen / Eelde, Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,468 miles (or 8,800 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 Groningen Airport Eelde, 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 Groningen Airport Eelde. 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):

• Frontier Airlines pulled out of SJC in May 2010, citing lack of profitability on its single flight from the airport to Denver, Colorado.
• 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.
• San Jose's first airline flights were Southwest Airways DC-3s on the multistop run between San Francisco and Los Angeles, starting in 1948.
• Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport handled 8,357,384 passengers last year.
• 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 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.
• Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) has 3 runways.
• From 1960 to 2010 San Jose State University operated a flight-simulator facility for its aviation program in buildings at the southeast corner of the airport.
• After the September 11 attacks and the dot-com bubble burst in 2001, the city lost several flights.
• 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.

Facts about Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ):

• On August 16, 1954, the Rijksluchtvaartschool – or National Aviation Academy in English – moved to the airport from Gilze-Rijen.
• Because of Groningen Airport Eelde's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at Groningen Airport Eelde 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 closest airport to Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) is Emden Airport (EME), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) NE of GRQ.
• The furthest airport from Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,778 miles (18,956 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Groningen Airport Eelde handled 20,866 passengers last year.
• In 1933, the airport's name was changed into "NV Luchthaven Eelde".
• In 1997, the Dutch government planned to stop financial support to most regional airports.
• Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) has 2 runways.