Nonstop flight route between Zürich, Switzerland and SeaTac (near Seattle and Tacoma), Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Zurich Airport (ZRH), Zürich, Switzerland and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA), SeaTac (near Seattle and Tacoma), Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,244 miles (or 8,439 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 Zurich Airport and Seattle–Tacoma 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 Zurich Airport and Seattle–Tacoma 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 Zurich Airport (ZRH):

• The first expansion of the airport was submitted in 1956, but the budget for the expansion was not approved by the Swiss Government until 1958 and the expansion was completed in 1961.
• The closest airport to Zurich Airport (ZRH) is Emmen Swiss Air Base (EML), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) SSW of ZRH.
• Schengen and non-Schengen arriving passengers are handled in separate areas of the central airside building, with non-Schengen passengers passing through immigration controls to reach the ground-side terminal complex.
• In addition to being known as "Zurich Airport", another name for ZRH is "Flughafen Zürich".
• The furthest airport from Zurich Airport (ZRH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Zurich Airport (meaning Zurich Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,087 miles (19,453 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The first flight abroad from Switzerland was on July 21, 1921, but the search for a location for a major airport wasn’t started until 1943 inside the Canton of Zürich.
• Zurich Airport (ZRH) has 4 runways.
• Zurich Airport handled 24,865,138 passengers last year.
• Rega, the air rescue service, has its head office in the Rega Centre, a hangar located in the northeast section of Zurich Airport.
• The airport has three airside piers, which are known as docks A, B and E.

Facts about Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA):

• Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) has 3 runways.
• Residents of the surrounding area filed lawsuits against the Port in the early 1970s, complaining of noise, vibration, smoke, and other problems.
• In addition to being known as "Seattle–Tacoma International Airport", another name for SEA is "Sea–Tac Airport".
• The new 3rd runway opened on November 20, 2008, with a total construction cost of $1.1 billion.
• The closest airport to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is Renton Municipal Airport (RNT), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) NE of SEA.
• The facility was originally scheduled to open in Spring 2011.
• The furthest airport from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,781 miles (17,350 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Seattle–Tacoma International Airport handled 34,776,666 passengers last year.
• Because of Seattle–Tacoma International Airport's relatively low elevation of 433 feet, planes can take off or land at Seattle–Tacoma 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.