Nonstop flight route between Hangzhou, China and Francistown, Botswana:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH), Hangzhou, China and Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW), Francistown, Botswana would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,110 miles (or 11,443 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 Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport and Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base, 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 Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport and Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base. 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 Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH):

• On the evening of 9 July 2010, the airport was shut down for an hour when an unidentified flying object was detected.
• Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport handled 22,114,103 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH) is Yiwu Airport (YIW), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) SSW of HGH.
• The new runway is 3,400 metres long and 60 metres wide, which is capable of handling the Airbus A380.
• The furthest airport from Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH) is Reconquista Airport (RCQ), which is nearly antipodal to Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (meaning Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Reconquista Airport), and is located 12,366 miles (19,901 kilometers) away in Reconquista, Santa Fe, Argentina.
• In addition to being known as "Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport", other names for HGH include "杭州萧山国际机场" and "Hángzhōu Xiāoshān Guójì Jīchǎng".
• There are airport bus services linking the airport to points throughout Zhejiang and cities in Jiangsu.
• Because of Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International 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.
• Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH) has 2 runways.

Facts about Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW):

• In addition to being known as "Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base", another name for FRW is "FBFT [1]".
• The closest airport to Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) is Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ), which is located 108 miles (174 kilometers) NE of FRW.
• In 2011 the airport's ownership of the old terminal was transferred to the Botswana Defence Force and became a military airport, with civilian traffic moved to the new Francistown International Airport terminal to the west of the airport lands.
• The furthest airport from Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (meaning Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,246 miles (19,707 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• Phase One of the construction cost P224 million, while Phase three cost P160 million.
• Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) has 2 runways.
• The new terminal building opened in 2011 and the old terminal is now used by the Botswana Defence Force.
• However, currently the project is expected to miss its May deadline, after the airport in Gaborone also missed its deadline set date for May 10, 2010, with contractors at both sites struggling to finalise each stage of construction in time.