Nonstop flight route between Alexander Bay, South Africa and Shafter, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Alexander Bay Airport (ALJ), Alexander Bay, South Africa and Shafter Airport (MIT), Shafter, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,822 miles (or 15,807 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 Alexander Bay Airport and Shafter 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 Alexander Bay Airport and Shafter 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 Alexander Bay Airport (ALJ):

• Because of Alexander Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 98 feet, planes can take off or land at Alexander Bay 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 Alexander Bay Airport (ALJ) is Kleinsee Airport (KLZ), which is located 84 miles (135 kilometers) SSE of ALJ.
• The furthest airport from Alexander Bay Airport (ALJ) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is located 11,931 miles (19,200 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
• Alexander Bay Airport (ALJ) has 3 runways.

Facts about Shafter Airport (MIT):

• Because of Shafter Airport's relatively low elevation of 424 feet, planes can take off or land at Shafter 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.
• With the relative completion of construction in July 1942, the airfield was renamed Minter Field Army Airfield a member of the locally prominent Minter family.
• In addition to being known as "Shafter Airport", another name for MIT is "Minter Field".
• The furthest airport from Shafter Airport (MIT) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,404 miles (18,353 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Shafter Airport (MIT) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Shafter Airport (MIT) is Meadows Field (BFL), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) ESE of MIT.
• Lerdo Field, as the airport was initially known during World War II was first opened in June 1941 when the United States Army Air Corps dispatched a small garrison of airmen to open an airfield at Shafter.
• For the 12-month period ending November 1, 2011, the airport had 45,000 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 123 per day.
• The primary aircraft flown at Minter Field was the Vultee BT-13 Valiant, which was used for basic flight training.