Nonstop flight route between Helena / West Helena, Arkansas, United States and Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thompson-Robbins AirportThompson-Robbins Army Airfield (HEE), Helena / West Helena, Arkansas, United States and O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,803 miles (or 14,167 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 Thompson-Robbins AirportThompson-Robbins Army Airfield and O. R. Tambo 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 Thompson-Robbins AirportThompson-Robbins Army Airfield and O. R. Tambo 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 Thompson-Robbins AirportThompson-Robbins Army Airfield (HEE):

• The airfield was operated under contract to USAAF by Aero-Tech providing basic flight instruction to aviation cadets.
• Because of Thompson-Robbins AirportThompson-Robbins Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 242 feet, planes can take off or land at Thompson-Robbins AirportThompson-Robbins Army Airfield 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 closest airport to Thompson-Robbins AirportThompson-Robbins Army Airfield (HEE) is Tunica Municipal Airport (UTM), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ENE of HEE.
• Thompson-Robbins AirportThompson-Robbins Army Airfield (HEE) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Thompson-Robbins AirportThompson-Robbins Army Airfield (HEE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,968 miles (17,651 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB):

• There are two parallel north-south runways and a disused cross runway.
• Critics noted the considerable expense involved in renaming the airport, and the decision to use a politician as the name would be obscure, confusing and in some instances, offensive.
• The furthest airport from O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,979 miles (19,279 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• The airport overtook Cairo International Airport in 1996 as the busiest airport in Africa and is the third-busiest airport in the Africa–Middle East region after Dubai International Airport and Doha International Airport.
• The closest airport to O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) is Rand Airport (QRA), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SW of JNB.
• O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) has 2 runways.
• Because of O. R. Tambo International Airport's high elevation of 5,558 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at JNB. Combined with a high temperature, this could make JNB a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "O. R. Tambo International Airport", another name for JNB is "Johannesburg International Airport".
• O. R. Tambo International Airport handled 18,794,897 passengers last year.