Nonstop flight route between East London, South Africa and Funafuti, Tuvalu:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from ELS to FUN:
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- About this route
- ELS Airport Information
- FUN Airport Information
- Facts about ELS
- Facts about FUN
- 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 FUN
- List of Nearest Airports to FUN
- Map of Furthest Airports from FUN
- List of Furthest Airports from FUN
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between East London Airport (ELS), East London, South Africa and Funafuti International Airport (FUN), Funafuti, Tuvalu would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,004 miles (or 14,490 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 Funafuti 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 Funafuti International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
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: | FUN / NGFU |
Airport Name: | Funafuti International Airport |
Location: | Funafuti, Tuvalu |
GPS Coordinates: | 8°31'30"S by 179°11'47"E |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 9 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from FUN |
More Information: | FUN Maps & Info |
Facts about East London Airport (ELS):
- 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 closest airport to East London Airport (ELS) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WSW of ELS.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Funafuti International Airport (FUN):
- Because of Funafuti International Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Funafuti 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 closest airport to Funafuti International Airport (FUN) is Arorae Island Airport (AIS), which is located 440 miles (708 kilometers) NNW of FUN.
- In November 2013 the World Bank approved US$6.06 million in finance for the existing Tuvalu Aviation Investment Project for the purpose of improving operational safety and oversight of international air transport and associated infrastructure at Funafuti International Airport.
- The furthest airport from Funafuti International Airport (FUN) is Tamale Airport (TML), which is nearly antipodal to Funafuti International Airport (meaning Funafuti International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tamale Airport), and is located 12,365 miles (19,900 kilometers) away in Tamale, Northern Region, Ghana.
- Funafuti International Airport (FUN) currently has only 1 runway.
- The first offensive operation was launched on 20 April 1943 when 22 B-24 Liberator aircraft from 371 and 372 Bombardment Squadrons bombed Nauru.
- The runway was originally constructed using coral aggregate and has a sub-base layer of 8 cm thick coral gravel, surfaced with a 1–2 cm asphalt chip seal.