Nonstop flight route between Hoedspruit, South Africa and Shetland Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from HDS to SCS:
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- About this route
- HDS Airport Information
- SCS Airport Information
- Facts about HDS
- Facts about SCS
- Map of Nearest Airports to HDS
- List of Nearest Airports to HDS
- Map of Furthest Airports from HDS
- List of Furthest Airports from HDS
- Map of Nearest Airports to SCS
- List of Nearest Airports to SCS
- Map of Furthest Airports from SCS
- List of Furthest Airports from SCS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS), Hoedspruit, South Africa and Scatsta Airport (SCS), Shetland Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,135 miles (or 9,873 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 Air Force Base Hoedspruit and Scatsta 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 Air Force Base Hoedspruit and Scatsta Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | HDS / FAHS |
Airport Name: | Air Force Base Hoedspruit |
Location: | Hoedspruit, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 24°21'16"S by 31°3'1"E |
Operator/Owner: | South African Air Force |
Airport Type: | Military and Civil |
Elevation: | 1742 feet (531 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from HDS |
More Information: | HDS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SCS / EGPM |
Airport Name: | Scatsta Airport |
Location: | Shetland Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 60°25'58"N by 1°17'45"W |
Area Served: | Shetland |
Operator/Owner: | Serco UK and Europe on behalf of BP |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 81 feet (25 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SCS |
More Information: | SCS Maps & Info |
Facts about Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS):
- Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS) has 2 runways.
- The base is teeming with wildlife, being surrounded by the 25 km² AFB Hoedspruit Game Reserve.
- The base motto is Pro Nostrorum Pace.
- The furthest airport from Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,932 miles (19,202 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
- The closest airport to Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS) is Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) NNE of HDS.
Facts about Scatsta Airport (SCS):
- It was abandoned after World War II, but reinstated as a civilian airport in 1978 to support the Shetland oil industry, and the Sullom Voe oil terminal in particular.
- The closest airport to Scatsta Airport (SCS) is Tingwall Airport (LWK), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) S of SCS.
- The furthest airport from Scatsta Airport (SCS) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,409 miles (18,361 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
- Because of Scatsta Airport's relatively low elevation of 81 feet, planes can take off or land at Scatsta 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.
- Construction started in Spring 1940, of two runways.
- The first flight of the day from Scatsta to Aberdeen has no passengers from offshore – and can have anything up to about 60 passengers during the height of the season, although the figure is more commonly between 15 and 25 on an average day.
- Scatsta Airport (SCS) currently has only 1 runway.