Nonstop flight route between Alton, Illinois, United States and Cape Town, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN), Alton, Illinois, United States and Cape Town International Airport (CPT), Cape Town, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,558 miles (or 13,772 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 St. Louis Regional Airport and Cape Town 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 St. Louis Regional Airport and Cape Town 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 St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN):

• Civic Memorial Airport opened in 1946 and received its current name in 1984.
• The furthest airport from St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,002 miles (17,706 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of St. Louis Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 544 feet, planes can take off or land at St. Louis Regional 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.
• Today a fair amount of air traffic and the Direct TV blimp comes for Cardinals playoffs, as Lambert's airport cannot take the blimp.
• West Star Aviation is the largest fixed base operations company at the airport.
• St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN) is Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) WSW of ALN.

Facts about Cape Town International Airport (CPT):

• Cape Town International Airport (CPT) has 2 runways.
• The MyCiTi bus rapid transit system provides a shuttle service connecting the airport with the Civic Centre bus station in the city centre.
• The terminal contains 10 air bridges, evenly split between domestic and international usage.
• The closest airport to Cape Town International Airport (CPT) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 217 miles (349 kilometers) E of CPT.
• The airport has direct flights from South Africa's other two main urban areas, Johannesburg and Durban, as well as flights to smaller centres in South Africa.
• Because of Cape Town International Airport's relatively low elevation of 151 feet, planes can take off or land at Cape Town 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.
• Cape Town International Airport is approximately 20 kilometres from the city centre and is accessible from the N2 freeway, with Airport Approach Road providing a direct link between the N2 and the airport.
• Cape Town International Airport handled 8,505,563 passengers last year.
• The terminal building has a split-level design, with departures located in the upper floors and arrivals in the lower floors.
• The furthest airport from Cape Town International Airport (CPT) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is located 11,616 miles (18,693 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
• There is no direct rail access to Cape Town International Airport.