Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Polokwane, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Great Falls International Airport (GTF), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Polokwane International Airport (PTG), Polokwane, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,742 miles (or 15,679 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 Great Falls International Airport and Polokwane 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 Great Falls International Airport and Polokwane 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 Great Falls International Airport (GTF):

• AvMax, a Calgary-based large jet maintenance and repair business, opened a large operation at GTF in 2006.
• The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 143,811 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 146,438 in 2009 and 155,204 in 2010.
• Great Falls International Airport is a public/military airport in city limits three miles southwest of central Great Falls in Cascade County, Montana.
• The airport covers 2,113 acres at an elevation of 3,680 feet.
• The furthest airport from Great Falls International Airport (GTF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,498 miles (16,896 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In addition to being known as "Great Falls International Airport", another name for GTF is "(former Great Falls Army Airfield)".
• In early 2012 Frontier Airlines announced new flights to Great Falls from the Denver hub.
• Great Falls International Airport is home to Great Falls Air National Guard Base and the Montana Air National Guard's 120th Fighter Wing, the "Vigilantes." An Air National Guard unit operationally-gained by the Air Combat Command, the 120 FW transitioned from the F-16C Fighting Falcon to the F-15C Eagle in January 2009, which it employs in the air defense and air dominance missions.
• The closest airport to Great Falls International Airport (GTF) is Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) E of GTF.
• Great Falls International Airport (GTF) has 3 runways.
• Great Falls has had airline flights since the 1930s.

Facts about Polokwane International Airport (PTG):

• Polokwane International Airport (PTG) has 2 runways.
• Because of Polokwane International Airport's high elevation of 4,076 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at PTG. Combined with a high temperature, this could make PTG a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Polokwane International Airport (PTG) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Polokwane International Airport (meaning Polokwane International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,031 miles (19,362 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• In addition to being known as "Polokwane International Airport", another name for PTG is "Gateway International Airport".
• The closest airport to Polokwane International Airport (PTG) is Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS), which is located 106 miles (171 kilometers) ESE of PTG.