Nonstop flight route between East London, South Africa and Hulhulé Island, Maldives:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from ELS to MLE:
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- About this route
- ELS Airport Information
- MLE Airport Information
- Facts about ELS
- Facts about MLE
- 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 MLE
- List of Nearest Airports to MLE
- Map of Furthest Airports from MLE
- List of Furthest Airports from MLE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between East London Airport (ELS), East London, South Africa and Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE), Hulhulé Island, Maldives would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,941 miles (or 6,343 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 Ibrahim Nasir 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 Ibrahim Nasir 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: | MLE / VRMM |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Hulhulé Island, Maldives |
GPS Coordinates: | 4°11'30"N by 73°31'44"E |
Area Served: | Malé, Maldives |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Maldives |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 6 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MLE |
More Information: | MLE Maps & Info |
Facts about East London Airport (ELS):
- 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 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.
- In 1965 the airport was again moved, this time to its present site, 9 km west of the city centre.
Facts about Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE):
- The airport opened to the public on 12 April 1966.
- Because of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Ibrahim Nasir 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.
- In addition to being known as "Ibrahim Nasir International Airport", another name for MLE is "އިބްރާހިމް ނާސިރު ބައިނަލްއަޤުވާމީ ވައިގެބަނދަރު".
- On 25 November 2010, MACL officially handed over the aerodrome license of Malé International Airport to GMIAL.
- GMIAL announced that the development plans included reclaiming more land at the eastern end of the runway.
- Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE) is Villa International Airport (VAM), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) SW of MLE.
- As of March 2013, SriLankan Airlines is the largest foreign carrier into Maldives with 32 flights a week.
- When the tourism industry in the Maldives began in 1972, the country was in need of an international standard airport to transport tourists to the resort islands.
- In late 2012, the government of Maldives declared that the concession agreement was void ab initio and on 27 November 2012 gave GMIAL a deadline of 7 days to evict the airport'.
- The furthest airport from Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,289 miles (18,168 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.