Nonstop flight route between Hoedspruit, South Africa and Essex (near London), England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS), Hoedspruit, South Africa and London Stansted Airport (STN), Essex (near London), England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,588 miles (or 8,994 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 London Stansted 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 London Stansted 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 Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS):

• The base was officially opened on 1 July 1978.
• Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• A civil airport terminal, known as the Eastgage Airport, was established at the southern end of the airfield in the early 1990s.
• 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.
• Air Force Base Hoedspruit is an airbase of the South African Air Force.
• The base motto is Pro Nostrorum Pace.

Facts about London Stansted Airport (STN):

• The closest airport to London Stansted Airport (STN) is MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) ENE of STN.
• The Competition Commission ruled in March 2009 that BAA should sell Gatwick and Stansted Airports within two years.
• The top international destinations served by Stansted airport are in Ireland, Italy, Poland and Spain.
• London Stansted Airport (STN) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2008 57 people were arrested after Plane Stupid, the environmental activist group, broke through the barriers and created a 'stockade' on a taxiway which resulted in 52 flights being cancelled.
• The furthest airport from London Stansted Airport (STN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,858 miles (19,084 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Stansted Airport has one main passenger terminal, near the village of Stansted Mountfitchet.
• During the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s the Fire Service Training School was based on the eastern side of the airfield under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, now the Civil Aviation Authority.
• A major expansion programme to the existing terminal took place between 2007 and 2009, adding nearly 5,900 m2 of floorspace to give space for additional baggage carousels, a new immigration and passport control hall and a hypostyle arrivals hall with improved facilities.
• Because of London Stansted Airport's relatively low elevation of 348 feet, planes can take off or land at London Stansted 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.
• London Stansted Airport handled 17,852,393 passengers last year.