Nonstop flight route between San José, Costa Rica and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) (SJO), San José, Costa Rica and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,402 miles (or 5,475 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 Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) and Gray Army Airfield, 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 Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) and Gray Army Airfield. 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 Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) (SJO):

• The furthest airport from Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) (SJO) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) (meaning Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,270 miles (19,746 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• There is a bus stop outside the airport for the Alajuela - San José and Alajuela - Heredia route in both directions.
• Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) handled 4,257,606 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO)", another name for SJO is "Aeropuerto Internacional Juan Santamaría".
• Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) (SJO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is hub of Sansa Airlines, and focus city airport for Copa Airlines and Avianca.
• Interior where Gates 1, 2 & 3 are located.
• Terminal buildings and main runway, 2003
• The closest airport to Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) (SJO) is Tobías Bolaños International Airport (SYQ), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) ESE of SJO.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• In 1926, the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding.
• Because of Gray Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 300 feet, planes can take off or land at Gray Army Airfield 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 Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of GRF.
• The Washington National Guard 66th Aviation Brigade trains at Grey AAF and provides transportation support for fighting wildfires.
• During the Korean War, GAAF continued in the role as a training and division support field.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,809 miles (17,395 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• GAAF units have served in Iraq with Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, returning from a 15 month deployment on April 17, 2004.