Nonstop flight route between Francistown, Botswana and Portland, Oregon, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW), Francistown, Botswana and Portland International Airport (PDX), Portland, Oregon, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,048 miles (or 16,171 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 Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base and Portland International 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 Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base and Portland International 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 Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW):

• The estimated cost for all three expansion phases is expected to exceed P500 million, and will all be completed at the same time, around May 2010.
• In addition to being known as "Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base", another name for FRW is "FBFT [1]".
• In 2011 the airport's ownership of the old terminal was transferred to the Botswana Defence Force and became a military airport, with civilian traffic moved to the new Francistown International Airport terminal to the west of the airport lands.
• The closest airport to Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) is Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ), which is located 108 miles (174 kilometers) NE of FRW.
• Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (meaning Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,246 miles (19,707 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.

Facts about Portland International Airport (PDX):

• Portland International Airport handled 1,502,956 passengers last year.
• Portland Airport has five concourses as well as a business aviation terminal.
• The furthest airport from Portland International Airport (PDX) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,903 miles (17,546 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• During World War II the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Forces.
• Portland International Airport (PDX) has 3 runways.
• The April 1957 OAG shows 38 United departures a day, 10 West Coast, 8 Northwest and 6 Western.
• By 1935 it was becoming apparent to the Port of Portland that the Swan Island Airport was becoming obsolete.
• The closest airport to Portland International Airport (PDX) is Portland-Troutdale Airport (TTD), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ESE of PDX.
• Because of Portland International Airport's relatively low elevation of 30 feet, planes can take off or land at Portland International 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 present PDX site was purchased by the Portland City Council in 1936.