Nonstop flight route between East London, South Africa and Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between East London Airport (ELS), East London, South Africa and Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,439 miles (or 13,582 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 Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2, 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 Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2. 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):

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

Facts about Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO):

• After the war, the 20th Air Force fighter squadrons moved out to Japan, Okinawa or the Philippines and Central Field came under the Jurisdiction of Military Air Transport Service, becoming a refueling stop for MATS aircraft in the Western Pacific.
• The furthest airport from Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO) is Cabo Frio International Airport (CFB), which is nearly antipodal to Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (meaning Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cabo Frio International Airport), and is located 12,187 miles (19,612 kilometers) away in Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO) is Hachijojima Airport (HAC), which is located 583 miles (938 kilometers) N of IWO.
• Today, the base is the only airfield on the island, operated by the Japan Self-Defense Forces.