Nonstop flight route between East London, South Africa and Palo Alto, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from ELS to PAO:
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- About this route
- ELS Airport Information
- PAO Airport Information
- Facts about ELS
- Facts about PAO
- 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 PAO
- List of Nearest Airports to PAO
- Map of Furthest Airports from PAO
- List of Furthest Airports from PAO
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between East London Airport (ELS), East London, South Africa and Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO), Palo Alto, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,721 miles (or 17,253 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 Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County, 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 Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County. 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: | PAO / KPAO |
Airport Name: | Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County |
Location: | Palo Alto, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°27'39"N by 122°6'53"W |
Operator/Owner: | County of Santa Clara |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 4 feet (1 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PAO |
More Information: | PAO Maps & Info |
Facts about East London Airport (ELS):
- Passenger flights were undertaken by two de Havilland Moth planes on Saturday afternoons and all day on Sundays, weather permitting.
- In 1944 a new airport was built at Collondale, about 2 km west of the present terminal building.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO):
- The airport was transferred to the United States Navy as King City NAAS in April 1945, and returned to civil control in December 1945.
- The closest airport to Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO) is Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of PAO.
- Facilities at this busy towered airport include multiple aircraft repair shops and a staffed terminal including West Valley Flight Club, Advanced Flyers, Peninsula Avionics, Sundance Flying Club, Stanford Flying Club, Rossi Aircraft, and Palo Alto Fuel Service.
- Because of Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County's relatively low elevation of 4 feet, planes can take off or land at Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County 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 Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,289 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO) currently has only 1 runway.