Nonstop flight route between Castle Donington, Leicestershire, United Kingdom and Johannesburg, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between East Midlands Airport (EMA), Castle Donington, Leicestershire, United Kingdom and Rand Airport (QRA), Johannesburg, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,745 miles (or 9,245 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 Midlands Airport and Rand 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 Midlands Airport and Rand 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 Midlands Airport (EMA):

• With growing passenger and cargo traffic, further expansion was proposed for the airport in 1992.
• The furthest airport from East Midlands Airport (EMA) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• East Midlands Airport is the second largest cargo airport in the United Kingdom after London Heathrow.
• Expansion was swift, with a further runway extension to 2,283 m and terminal upgrade in the late 1970s.
• Because of East Midlands Airport's relatively low elevation of 306 feet, planes can take off or land at East Midlands 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 Midlands Airport handled 4,334,117 passengers last year.
• By 2006, annual passengers had reached 4.72 million, twelfth highest in the UK.
• Derby Airways, which was in the process of being renamed British Midland Airways, moved its operations to the new airport and established its headquarters in nearby Donington Hall in Castle Donington, operating a network of domestic and international scheduled and charter flights at East Midlands.
• East Midlands Airport (EMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to East Midlands Airport (EMA) is RAF Cottesmore (OKH), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) ESE of EMA.
• Until 1982, when the head office moved to Donington Hall,British Midland had its head office on the airport property.

Facts about Rand Airport (QRA):

• Boeing 747SP at the South African Airways Museum Society situated near the threshold of Runway 29.
• The airport was officially opened on 21 December 1931 owned jointly by the Germiston City Council, the Rand Gold Refinery and Elandsfontein Estates.
• South African Airways donated two Boeing 747s to the "South African Airways Museum Society" which are on display at the airport.
• de Havilland DH 104 Dove and Lockheed L18-08 Lodestar on view at the South African Airways Museum Society at Rand Airport.
• Because of Rand Airport's high elevation of 5,482 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at QRA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make QRA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Rand Airport (QRA) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,977 miles (19,275 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• Rand Airport (QRA) has 2 runways.
• SAA moved its headquarters to Palmietfontein Airport in 1948 because of runway length constraints.
• The closest airport to Rand Airport (QRA) is O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) NE of QRA.
• The airport is also home to the Flying Lions Aerobatic Team.