Nonstop flight route between Bakersfield, California, United States and Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Meadows Field (BFL), Bakersfield, California, United States and O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,403 miles (or 16,743 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 Meadows Field and O. R. Tambo 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 Meadows Field and O. R. Tambo 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 Meadows Field (BFL):

• The furthest airport from Meadows Field (BFL) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,406 miles (18,356 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• All current airline flights from Meadows Field are on regional jets or turbo-props.
• With the development of commercial air service Bakersfield needed a purpose-built commercial airport.
• The airport saw increased air service during the 1950s and 1960s.
• In addition to being known as "Meadows Field", another name for BFL is "Kern County Airport No. 1".
• The terminal previously had an onsite motel, "Skyway Inn," and a restaurant, "Skyway Steakhouse".
• The closest airport to Meadows Field (BFL) is Shafter Airport (MIT), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) WNW of BFL.
• Because of Meadows Field's relatively low elevation of 510 feet, planes can take off or land at Meadows Field 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.
• After the war Meadows Field would return to its role as a commercial airport.
• Meadows Field (BFL) has 2 runways.

Facts about O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB):

• The closest airport to O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) is Rand Airport (QRA), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SW of JNB.
• O. R. Tambo International Airport handled 18,794,897 passengers last year.
• Because of O. R. Tambo International Airport's high elevation of 5,558 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at JNB. Combined with a high temperature, this could make JNB a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,979 miles (19,279 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• In November 2009 Air France announced the scheduled flights of their Airbus A380 into Johannesburg's O.R.
• It was used as a test airport for the Concorde during the 1970s, to determine how the aircraft would perform while taking off and landing at high altitude.
• In late 2005, a name change was proposed for the airport to "O.
• On 26 November 2006, the airport became the first in Africa to host the Airbus A380.
• In addition to being known as "O. R. Tambo International Airport", another name for JNB is "Johannesburg International Airport".
• O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) has 2 runways.