Nonstop flight route between San Jose, California, United States and Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC), San Jose, California, United States and Kikwit Airport (KKW), Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,104 miles (or 14,652 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 Kikwit 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 Kikwit 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):

• SJC is a "downtown airport", unlike SFO and OAK which are on opposite shores of San Francisco Bay.
• 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.
• In the summer of 2009 American Airlines ended flights to Austin, Texas.
• 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.
• 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.
• Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) has 3 runways.
• In November 2005 a scaled-back plan was approved and announced.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 2010, service expanded at SJC for the first time in several years.

Facts about Kikwit Airport (KKW):

• Kikwit Airport (KKW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Kikwit Airport (KKW) is Idiofa Airport (IDF), which is located 56 miles (90 kilometers) E of KKW.
• In addition to being known as "Kikwit Airport", another name for KKW is "Kikwit Airport".
• The furthest airport from Kikwit Airport (KKW) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is nearly antipodal to Kikwit Airport (meaning Kikwit Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cassidy International Airport), and is located 12,097 miles (19,468 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.