Nonstop flight route between Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States and Riga, Latvia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA), Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States and Riga International Airport (RIX), Riga, Latvia would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,774 miles (or 7,683 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 Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport 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 Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport 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 Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA):

• Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport once had three intersecting runways with a parallel taxiway system that connected them to the aircraft parking apron.
• Because of Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 801 feet, planes can take off or land at Spartanburg Downtown Memorial 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 Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport contributes $15.4 million to the local economy.
• The furthest airport from Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,463 miles (18,449 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA) is Greenville–Spartanburg International Airport (GSP), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) W of SPA.

Facts about Riga International Airport (RIX):

• The closest airport to Riga International Airport (RIX) is Šiauliai International Airport (SQQ), which is located 74 miles (120 kilometers) SSW of RIX.
• Riga International Airport (RIX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• AirBaltic has its head office on the property of Riga Airport.
• In addition to being known as "Riga International Airport", another name for RIX is "Starptautiskā lidosta “Rīga”".
• Riga International Airport is the international airport of Riga, the capital of Latvia, and the largest airport in the Baltic states with direct flights to over 80 destinations in 30 countries.
• 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.
• 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.