Nonstop flight route between East London, South Africa and Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between East London Airport (ELS), East London, South Africa and Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI), Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,340 miles (or 10,204 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 East London Airport and Kota Kinabalu 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 East London Airport and Kota Kinabalu 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 East London Airport (ELS):

• 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.
• In 1965 the airport was again moved, this time to its present site, 9 km west of the city centre.
• In 1944 a new airport was built at Collondale, about 2 km west of the present terminal building.
• 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 airport was renamed in 1994.
• 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 (ELS) has 2 runways.
• East London's airport is a small but bustling one that plays an important role in the growing economy of the Eastern Cape.

Facts about Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI):

• Kota Kinabalu International Airport handled 6,929,692 passengers last year.
• Around the 1970s to 1980s, a newer terminal building was built on the other side of the runway.
• The current largest scheduled aircraft to operate in and out of the terminal is the Boeing 777-200ER from Royal Brunei and Malaysia Airlines.
• In addition to being known as "Kota Kinabalu International Airport", another name for BKI is "Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kota Kinabalu".
• The terminal was also the first airport in Malaysia to accommodate the brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner from Royal Brunei with demo product introductory flights commenced during November 2013 for a short period.
• Because of Kota Kinabalu International Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Kota Kinabalu 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.
• The Departure Hall column head design is inspired by the 'Wakid' basket design.
• The furthest airport from Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) is Lábrea Airport (LBR), which is nearly antipodal to Kota Kinabalu International Airport (meaning Kota Kinabalu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Lábrea Airport), and is located 12,330 miles (19,843 kilometers) away in Lábrea, Amazonas, Brazil.
• Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) is Lapangan Terbang Keningau Keningau Airport (KGU), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) S of BKI.