Nonstop flight route between San Antonio, Texas, United States and Riga, Latvia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lackland Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (SKF), San Antonio, Texas, United States and Riga International Airport (RIX), Riga, Latvia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,601 miles (or 9,014 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 Lackland Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio and Riga International 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 Lackland Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio and Riga International 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 Lackland Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (SKF):

• From the Cold War demise, base realignment and closure actions in the 1990s relocated several specialized training programs at Lackland.
• Lackland Air Force Base is home to the 37th Training Wing which operates a variety of training squadrons.
• In late 1951 Air Defense Command selected Lackland Air Force Base as one of twenty-eight radar stations built as part of the second segment of the permanent radar surveillance network.
• During the 1960s, more permanent facilities were constructed, including four 1,000-person steel and brick Recruit Housing and Training dormitories built between 1966 and 1970 for basic military training by the Lackland Military Training Center.
• No other item in the 1960s compared to the incident that occurred at Lackland in February 1966 with the death of a basic trainee.
• The closest airport to Lackland Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (SKF) is Stinson Municipal Airport (SSF), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) ESE of SKF.
• The furthest airport from Lackland Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (SKF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,124 miles (17,902 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

Facts about Riga International Airport (RIX):

• As the Latvian government may be backing out of the state-financed plan to build the 20 million passenger capable terminal, airBaltic is now planning, by 2014, to build for its own exclusive use a second terminal which can handle 40 planes and 5000 passengers per hour, equivalent to about 7.5 million passengers per year, located next to the current terminal, while leaving the current terminal for all other airlines to use.
• Renovation and modernization of the airport was completed in 2001, coinciding with the 800th anniversary of the founding of the city.
• Riga International Airport (RIX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Busiest airports by passenger traffic in the Baltic States
• Because of Riga International Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Riga 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.
• The closest airport to Riga International Airport (RIX) is Šiauliai International Airport (SQQ), which is located 74 miles (120 kilometers) SSW of RIX.
• In addition to being known as "Riga International Airport", another name for RIX is "Starptautiskā lidosta “Rīga”".
• The furthest airport from Riga International Airport (RIX) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,169 miles (17,975 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airport is located in the Mārupe municipality 5.4 NM west of Riga and is a state-owned joint-stock company, with the owner of all shares being the government of Latvia.