Nonstop flight route between El Prat de Llobregat (near Barcelona), Spain and Phalaborwa, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN), El Prat de Llobregat (near Barcelona), Spain and Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW), Phalaborwa, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,877 miles (or 7,849 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 Barcelona–El Prat Airport and Hendrik Van Eck 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 Barcelona–El Prat Airport and Hendrik Van Eck 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 Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN):

• The Barcelona–Madrid air shuttle service, known as the "Puente Aéreo", or "Pont Aeri" literally "Air Bridge", was the world's busiest route until 2008, with the highest number of flight operations in 2007.
• Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Barcelona–El Prat Airport (meaning Barcelona–El Prat Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,248 miles (19,711 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Due to the strong drop in air traffic after 1999 and the crisis in the aviation sector in 2001 many charter operations from Girona and Reus were diverted to El Prat, which helped the airport to survive the crisis.
• The Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona public bus line 46 runs from Plaça Espanya.
• The closest airport to Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN) is Sabadell Airport (QSA), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) N of BCN.
• In 1948, a runway was built, today 07-25, in the same year the first overseas service was operated by Pan American World Airways to New York City, using a Lockheed Constellation.
• In addition to being known as "Barcelona–El Prat Airport", another name for BCN is "Aeroport de Barcelona–El Prat".
• Because of Barcelona–El Prat Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Barcelona–El Prat 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.

Facts about Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW):

• Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,944 miles (19,222 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• The closest airport to Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW) is Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) SSW of PHW.
• In addition to being known as "Hendrik Van Eck Airport", another name for PHW is "Phalaborwa Airport".