Nonstop flight route between Houston, Texas, United States and Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Houston, Texas, United States and Ladysmith Airport (LAY), Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,159 miles (or 14,740 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 George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Ladysmith 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 George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Ladysmith 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 George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH):

• Terminal D opened in 1990 as the International Arrivals Building and was later renamed the Mickey Leland International Arrivals Building.
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport handled 40,128,953 passengers last year.
• The food court areas are in the center of each concourse, near the departure gates.
• The Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center, located on the airport grounds at 16600 JFK Boulevard, serves as the region's ARTCC.
• Terminal B was also one of the original two terminals of the airport to open in 1969 and was also designed by Goleman & Rolfe and George Pierce-Abel B.
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) has 5 runways.
• There are three main entrances into IAH's terminal areas.
• On August 28, 1990, Continental Airlines agreed to build its maintenance center at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
• The furthest airport from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,981 miles (17,672 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Because of George Bush Intercontinental Airport's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at George Bush Intercontinental 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.
• The closest airport to George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of IAH.
• In addition to being known as "George Bush Intercontinental Airport", another name for IAH is "Houston-Intercontinental".
• In the late 1980s, Houston City Council considered a plan to rename the airport after Mickey Leland—an African-American congressman who died in an aviation accident in Ethiopia.
• On June 19, 2014, Emirates Airlines announced that it would become the second operator of the Airbus A380 at Intercontinental Airport, upgrading its service from Dubai to Houston from Boeing 777 to the "Super Jumbo" A380.

Facts about Ladysmith Airport (LAY):

• Ladysmith Airport (LAY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Ladysmith Airport (LAY) is Mokhotlong Airport (MKH), which is located 64 miles (102 kilometers) SW of LAY.
• The furthest airport from Ladysmith Airport (LAY) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,789 miles (18,972 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.