Nonstop flight route between East London, South Africa and Manston, Kent, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between East London Airport (ELS), East London, South Africa and Manston Airport (MSE), Manston, Kent, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,048 miles (or 9,733 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 Manston 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 Manston 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• East London Airport (ELS) has 2 runways.
• Passenger flights were undertaken by two de Havilland Moth planes on Saturday afternoons and all day on Sundays, weather permitting.
• 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.
• East London Airport is an airport serving East London, a city in the Eastern Cape province on the southeast coast of South Africa.

Facts about Manston Airport (MSE):

• Manston Airport (MSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Departures were offered during summer 2011 to Funchal with specialist operator Atlantic Holidays, operated by UK charter airline Monarch Airlines but have since been discontinued.
• From July 2013, British Airways has operated test flights and crew training for the Airbus A380 from Manston, which was followed by a similar exercise for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
• The airport closed on the 15 May 2014 along with the loss of 144 jobs.
• Rapid development began in 2004 in an attempt to make it a budget airline hub.
• Manston Airport handled 8,595 passengers last year.
• Hawker Typhoon and Meteor squadrons were based at Manston during the Second World War.
• The closest airport to Manston Airport (MSE) is Lympne Airport (LYM), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SW of MSE.
• Newmarket Holidays continues to offer irregular charter flights during the summer months to popular destinations including Verona and Naples in Italy, as well as Porto in Portugal using the Lithuanian charter airline Small Planet Airlines for the summer 2013 season.
• Because of Manston Airport's relatively low elevation of 178 feet, planes can take off or land at Manston 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 furthest airport from Manston Airport (MSE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,906 miles (19,162 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• After the plan was published, the Ministry of Defence announced its intention to sell off RAF Manston.
• From 1989 Manston became Kent International Airport, and a new terminal was opened by Sarah, Duchess of York.
• In December 2003 the government issued a White Paper on "The Future of Air Transport", which states that Manston "could play a valuable role in meeting local demand and could contribute to regional economic development." The government would support development in principle, "subject to relevant environmental considerations".