Nonstop flight route between East London, South Africa and Tortuguero, Costa Rica:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from ELS to TTQ:
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- About this route
- ELS Airport Information
- TTQ Airport Information
- Facts about ELS
- Facts about TTQ
- 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 TTQ
- List of Nearest Airports to TTQ
- Map of Furthest Airports from TTQ
- List of Furthest Airports from TTQ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between East London Airport (ELS), East London, South Africa and Tortuguero Airport (TTQ), Tortuguero, Costa Rica would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,847 miles (or 12,628 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 Tortuguero 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 Tortuguero 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: | TTQ / MRAO |
Airport Name: | Tortuguero Airport |
Location: | Tortuguero, Costa Rica |
GPS Coordinates: | 10°34'8"N by 83°30'52"W |
Airport Type: | Private |
Elevation: | 82 feet (25 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from TTQ |
More Information: | TTQ Maps & Info |
Facts about East London Airport (ELS):
- East London Airport (ELS) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to East London Airport (ELS) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WSW of ELS.
- In 1944 a new airport was built at Collondale, about 2 km west of the present terminal building.
- 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.
- East London's airport is a small but bustling one that plays an important role in the growing economy of the Eastern Cape.
- 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.
- In 1965 the airport was again moved, this time to its present site, 9 km west of the city centre.
- 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 Tortuguero Airport (TTQ):
- The closest airport to Tortuguero Airport (TTQ) is Barra del Colorado Airport (BCL), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) NNW of TTQ.
- Tortuguero Airport (TTQ) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Tortuguero Airport (TTQ) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Tortuguero Airport (meaning Tortuguero Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,322 miles (19,831 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
- Because of Tortuguero Airport's relatively low elevation of 82 feet, planes can take off or land at Tortuguero 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.