Nonstop flight route between Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and Riga, Latvia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport (YOW), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and Riga International Airport (RIX), Riga, Latvia would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,000 miles (or 6,437 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 Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International 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 Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International 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 Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport (YOW):

• In February 2010, Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport was recognized by customers for its excellent customer service in the results of Airports Council International's Airport Service Quality program.
• The closest airport to Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport (YOW) is Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport (YRO), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) N of YOW.
• The south field consists of the two longer runways, 07/25 and 14/32, designed for jet airliners.
• Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport (YOW) has 3 runways.
• Non-stop and same-plane freighter flights
• The furthest airport from Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport (YOW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,465 miles (18,451 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport's relatively low elevation of 374 feet, planes can take off or land at Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier 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.
• On September 15, 2000, a Miami Air International Boeing 727 arriving to pick up the Florida Panthers hockey team ran off the end of the runway.

Facts about Riga International Airport (RIX):

• 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 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”".
• In 2006, the new north terminal extension was opened.
• 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.
• 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.
• Riga International Airport (RIX) currently has only 1 runway.
• AirBaltic has its head office on the property of Riga Airport.