Nonstop flight route between Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia and East London, South Africa:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from DRW to ELS:
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- About this route
- DRW Airport Information
- ELS Airport Information
- Facts about DRW
- Facts about ELS
- Map of Nearest Airports to DRW
- List of Nearest Airports to DRW
- Map of Furthest Airports from DRW
- List of Furthest Airports from DRW
- Map of Nearest Airports to ELS
- List of Nearest Airports to ELS
- Map of Furthest Airports from ELS
- List of Furthest Airports from ELS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Darwin International Airport (DRW), Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia and East London Airport (ELS), East London, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,487 miles (or 10,439 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 Darwin International Airport and East London 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 Darwin International Airport and East London Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DRW / YPDN |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 12°24'52"S by 130°52'36"E |
Area Served: | Darwin, Northern Territory |
Operator/Owner: | Darwin International Airport Pty Ltd (DIA) / RAAF Darwin |
Airport Type: | Military/Public |
Elevation: | 103 feet (31 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from DRW |
More Information: | DRW Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | ELS / FAEL |
Airport Name: | East London Airport |
Location: | East London, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°2'5"S by 27°49'17"E |
Area Served: | East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 436 feet (133 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from ELS |
More Information: | ELS Maps & Info |
Facts about Darwin International Airport (DRW):
- Until they were withdrawn from service, Concorde made sporadic visits to Darwin as well, having one of the few runways long enough in Australia to handle them.
- Darwin International Airport handled 1,743,734 passengers last year.
- The furthest airport from Darwin International Airport (DRW) is Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport (CAY), which is located 11,867 miles (19,099 kilometers) away in Cayenne, French Guiana.
- The airport is located in Darwin, Northern Territory's northern suburbs, 13 km from the Darwin city centre, in the suburb of Marrara.
- The closest airport to Darwin International Airport (DRW) is Bathurst Island Airport (BRT), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) NNW of DRW.
- Darwin International Airport (DRW) has 2 runways.
- Darwin Airport has scheduled flights to destinations in the Northern Territory, around Australia and in Southeast Asia.
- Darwin Airport has an international terminal, a domestic terminal and a cargo terminal.
- 2012 and 2013 saw a major boost for Darwin Airport when foreign carriers Silk Air, Indonesia AirAsia, Philippine Airlines and Malaysia Airlines started direct flights to Singapore, Bali, Manila and Kuala Lumpur.
- In addition to being known as "Darwin International Airport", another name for DRW is "RAAF Base Darwin".
- Because of Darwin International Airport's relatively low elevation of 103 feet, planes can take off or land at Darwin 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.
- Between 1950 and 1974 Darwin Airport acted as the primary domestic and international airport for the Northern Territory and a very important stop for airlines flying between Australia, Asia and onwards to Europe.
Facts about East London Airport (ELS):
- Passenger flights were undertaken by two de Havilland Moth planes on Saturday afternoons and all day on Sundays, weather permitting.
- East London Airport (ELS) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to East London Airport (ELS) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WSW of ELS.
- The airport had an inauspicious beginning in 1927, when Lieut Colonel Alistair Miller asked the East London town council to help establish a municipal aerodrome at Woodbrook, west of the city.
- Because of East London Airport's relatively low elevation of 436 feet, planes can take off or land at East London 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 furthest airport from East London Airport (ELS) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,569 miles (18,618 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
- East London Airport resides at an elevation of 435 feet above mean sea level.