Nonstop flight route between Lanseria, South Africa and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lanseria International Airport (HLA), Lanseria, South Africa and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,141 miles (or 14,712 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 Lanseria International Airport and Grand Forks Air Force 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 Lanseria International Airport and Grand Forks Air Force 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 Lanseria International Airport (HLA):

• Because of Lanseria International Airport's high elevation of 4,520 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at HLA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make HLA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The airport was officially opened by the Minister of Transport at the time, Hannes Rall, on 16 August 1974.
• Lanseria International Airport (HLA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Lanseria International Airport", another name for HLA is "Lanseria".
• National Airways has its head office building on the airport property.
• The closest airport to Lanseria International Airport (HLA) is Grand Central Airport (GCJ), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) ESE of HLA.
• On 11 November 2013 the airport opened its new 45-meter-wide 07/25 Runway and also closing the existing 30-meter-wide 06/24 runway.
• The furthest airport from Lanseria International Airport (HLA) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is nearly antipodal to Lanseria International Airport (meaning Lanseria International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hana Airport), and is located 12,002 miles (19,316 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• On 15 November 2012 the airport was sold to a consortium consisting of Harith, an infrastructure development fund management company.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• The closest airport to Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) E of RDR.
• On 26 May 1972, President Nixon and Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev signed the ABM Treaty, which limited each nation to one site to protect strategic forces and one site to protect the "National Command Authority." With work about 85 percent complete at Grand Forks, the United States chose to finish construction at the North Dakota site.
• The 319th transitioned from B-52H to re-engined B-52G aircraft in 1983, and added the AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile in 1984.
• The furthest airport from Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,504 miles (16,904 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Due to the continuance of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, GFAFB was originally an Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor air base.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.