Nonstop flight route between San José, Costa Rica and Doha, Qatar:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) (SJO), San José, Costa Rica and Al-Udeid Air Base (IUD), Doha, Qatar would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,584 miles (or 13,814 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 Al-Udeid Air Base, 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 Al-Udeid Air Base. 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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) (SJO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Check-in counters in the main terminal
• No major changes were made to the terminal until November 1997 when the government issued a decree requesting participation of private companies to manage the operations of the airport.
• Interior where Gates 1, 2 & 3 are located.
• Licensed taxis are available in the airport and will generally accept both colones and U.S.
• Juan Santamaria International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in Costa Rica, having experienced a constant increase in traffic since its opening in 1958, boosted by the growing flow of tourists.

Facts about Al-Udeid Air Base (IUD):

• Al-Udeid Air Base (IUD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Al-Udeid Air Base (IUD) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is nearly antipodal to Al-Udeid Air Base (meaning Al-Udeid Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Totegegie Airport), and is located 12,021 miles (19,346 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• With its small territory and narrow population base, Qatar relies to a large degree on external cooperation and support for its security.
• Qatar invested over $US1 billion to construct the Al Udeid air base south of Doha during the 1990s.
• The Administration’s FY2011 military construction request for Qatar was $64.3 million, for Air Force facilities and a National Security Agency warehouse.
• The closest airport to Al-Udeid Air Base (IUD) is Hamad International Airport (DOH), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) ENE of IUD.
• Because of Al-Udeid Air Base's relatively low elevation of 130 feet, planes can take off or land at Al-Udeid Air Base 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.
• Following joint military operations during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Qatar and the United States concluded a Defense Cooperation Agreement that has been subsequently expanded.
• In addition to being known as "Al-Udeid Air Base", other names for IUD include "قاعدة العديد الجوية" and "XJD".