Nonstop flight route between San Jose, California, United States and Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC), San Jose, California, United States and Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL), Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,489 miles (or 8,834 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 Kiel Holtenau 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 Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport and Kiel Holtenau 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 Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (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.
• In November 2005 a scaled-back plan was approved and announced.
• 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 handled 8,357,384 passengers last year.
• 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.
• The terminal includes an international arrivals building, which contains Gates 15 and 16.
• 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.
• Frontier Airlines pulled out of SJC in May 2010, citing lack of profitability on its single flight from the airport to Denver, Colorado.
• Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) has 3 runways.

Facts about Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL):

• In 1995, the airport became a civilian airport again and in 1997, a new control tower that was operated by civilian staff was constructed.
• The furthest airport from Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,649 miles (18,747 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Cirrus Airlines operated scheduled flights to Munich from 2 May 2006 using a single DHC-8-100 aircraft, which was based in Kiel Airport.
• A new hangar was built in 2000.
• In 1987, the terminal that is still used today was built.
• Because of Kiel Holtenau Airport's relatively low elevation of 101 feet, planes can take off or land at Kiel Holtenau 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 closest airport to Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL) is Sønderborg Airport (SGD), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) NNW of KEL.
• In addition to being known as "Kiel Holtenau Airport", another name for KEL is "Flughafen Kiel-Holtenau".
• Luftsportverein Kiel e.V.