Nonstop flight route between East London, South Africa and Timbuktu, Mali:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from ELS to TOM:
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- About this route
- ELS Airport Information
- TOM Airport Information
- Facts about ELS
- Facts about TOM
- 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 TOM
- List of Nearest Airports to TOM
- Map of Furthest Airports from TOM
- List of Furthest Airports from TOM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between East London Airport (ELS), East London, South Africa and Timbuktu Airport (TOM), Timbuktu, Mali would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,995 miles (or 6,430 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 Timbuktu 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 Timbuktu 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: | TOM / GATB |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Timbuktu, Mali |
GPS Coordinates: | 16°43'50"N by 3°0'26"W |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 863 feet (263 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from TOM |
More Information: | TOM Maps & Info |
Facts about East London Airport (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.
- 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 Airport is an airport serving East London, a city in the Eastern Cape province on the southeast coast of South Africa.
- 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.
- 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 Timbuktu Airport (TOM):
- The closest airport to Timbuktu Airport (TOM) is Goundam Airport (GUD), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) WSW of TOM.
- In addition to being known as "Timbuktu Airport", another name for TOM is "Tombouctou Airport".
- The furthest airport from Timbuktu Airport (TOM) is Yasawa Island Airport (YAS), which is nearly antipodal to Timbuktu Airport (meaning Timbuktu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Yasawa Island Airport), and is located 12,400 miles (19,956 kilometers) away in Yasawa Island, Fiji.
- Timbuktu Airport (TOM) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Timbuktu Airport's relatively low elevation of 863 feet, planes can take off or land at Timbuktu 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.