Nonstop flight route between Düne, Helgoland, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Heligoland Airport (HGL), Düne, Helgoland, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,681 miles (or 9,143 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 Heligoland Airport 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 Heligoland Airport 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 Heligoland Airport (HGL):

• A ferryboat service connects Düne to the Heligoland main island.
• The closest airport to Heligoland Airport (HGL) is Wangerooge Airport (AGE), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) S of HGL.
• In addition to being known as "Heligoland Airport", another name for HGL is "Flughafen Helgoland-Düne".
• Because of Heligoland Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Heligoland 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.
• Heligoland Airport is a small airport on the German island of Düne, the smaller of the two isles of the Heligoland archipelago in the North Sea, about 70 kilometres from the mainland.
• From 2005 to 2006, the main runway was extended from 400 m to 480 m for compliance with EU regulations on commercial air traffic.
• The furthest airport from Heligoland Airport (HGL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,693 miles (18,819 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Heligoland Airport (HGL) has 3 runways.

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

• 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 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.
• Airports Company South Africa reported that major new developments took place at the airport, in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
• During busy periods, outbound flights use the western runway for take-off, while inbound flights use the eastern runway for landing.
• 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.
• The airport was founded in 1952 as "Jan Smuts Airport", two years after his death, near the town of Kempton Park on the East Rand.
• The airport is easily accessible by car and it is located in North-East Johannesburg on the R24 Airport Freeway, which can be accessed by the R24 and the R21 highway.
• 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.