Nonstop flight route between East London, South Africa and Bulawayo, Zimbabwe:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from ELS to BUQ:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- ELS Airport Information
- BUQ Airport Information
- Facts about ELS
- Facts about BUQ
- Map of Nearest Airports to ELS
- List of Nearest Airports to ELS
- Map of Furthest Airports from ELS
- List of Furthest Airports from ELS
- Map of Nearest Airports to BUQ
- List of Nearest Airports to BUQ
- Map of Furthest Airports from BUQ
- List of Furthest Airports from BUQ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between East London Airport (ELS), East London, South Africa and Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ), Bulawayo, Zimbabwe would travel a Great Circle distance of 901 miles (or 1,450 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 relatively short distance between East London Airport and Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BUQ / FVBU |
Airport Name: | Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport |
Location: | Bulawayo, Zimbabwe |
GPS Coordinates: | 20°1'2"S by 28°37'4"E |
Operator/Owner: | Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 4359 feet (1,329 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from BUQ |
More Information: | BUQ Maps & Info |
Facts about East London Airport (ELS):
- East London Airport is an airport serving East London, a city in the Eastern Cape province on the southeast coast of South Africa.
- East London Airport (ELS) has 2 runways.
- 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.
- The airport was renamed in 1994.
- 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 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.
- The closest airport to East London Airport (ELS) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WSW of ELS.
Facts about Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ):
- Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ) has 2 runways.
- Because of Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport's high elevation of 4,359 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BUQ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BUQ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The closest airport to Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ) is Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE), which is located 90 miles (145 kilometers) ENE of BUQ.
- The furthest airport from Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (meaning Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,198 miles (19,630 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.