Nonstop flight route between Filton, Bristol, United Kingdom and Upington, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bristol Filton Airport (FZO), Filton, Bristol, United Kingdom and Upington Airport (UTN), Upington, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,709 miles (or 9,188 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 Bristol Filton Airport and Upington 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 Bristol Filton Airport and Upington 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 Bristol Filton Airport (FZO):

• Before WWII there was a belief that German bombers had insufficient range to reach Filton, however, the invasion of France by the Nazis in 1940 changed the situation.
• The closest airport to Bristol Filton Airport (FZO) is Bristol Airport (BRS), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SSW of FZO.
• Because of Bristol Filton Airport's relatively low elevation of 225 feet, planes can take off or land at Bristol Filton 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.
• Filton's runway is one of the widest, at 91 m and is a considerable length at 2,467 m long, having been extended first for the maiden flight of the Bristol Brabazon airliner in 1949 and again in the late 1960s for Concorde.
• Following a review of its commercial and economic viability, the airport stakeholders decided to close the airport for business as of 31 December 2012.
• The airfield is bounded by the A38 trunk road to the east, the former London to Avonmouth railway line to the south and the Old Filton Bypass road to the north west.
• The furthest airport from Bristol Filton Airport (FZO) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,930 miles (19,200 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Companies within the boundary of the aerodrome are BAE Systems, Airbus, MBDA and Rolls-Royce, as well as a number of aircraft maintenance companies, flying schools and the South West of England Royal Mail letter sorting depot.
• During the early 1950s, British Overseas Airways Corporation flew their Lockheed Constellations and Boeing Stratocruisers into Filton to be serviced in the newly completed Brabazon Hangar, then the largest hangar in the world.
• Before World War II, there were only grass runways at Filton.
• In addition to being known as "Bristol Filton Airport", another name for FZO is "Filton Aerodrome".
• In 1954 BAC opened a technical college for apprentices and trainees at the bottom of Filton Hill.
• Bristol Filton Airport (FZO) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Upington Airport (UTN):

• The furthest airport from Upington Airport (UTN) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is nearly antipodal to Upington Airport (meaning Upington Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Princeville Airport), and is located 12,007 miles (19,323 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
• From August 1976 to December 1996, South African Airways made use of Upington as a refuelling station for two weekly scheduled Boeing 747 flights to London and Zurich.
• With the fall of the Portuguese regime in Angola, South African Airways lost its landing rights in Luanda.
• The closest airport to Upington Airport (UTN) is Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH), which is located 147 miles (236 kilometers) ENE of UTN.
• As well as improvements to the airport itself, ACSA will be preparing land around the airport for development to support the inevitable boost to the local economy.
• Planning is also under way at Upington Airport to construct a facility for the long-term parking of mothballed aircraft.
• Upington Airport (UTN) has 3 runways.
• Upington Airport is an airport located in Upington, Northern Cape, South Africa.