Nonstop flight route between Wilmington, Delaware, United States and Cape Town, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wilmington/Philadelphia Regional Airport (ILG), Wilmington, Delaware, United States and Cape Town International Airport (CPT), Cape Town, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,863 miles (or 12,654 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 Wilmington/Philadelphia Regional Airport and Cape Town 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 Wilmington/Philadelphia Regional Airport and Cape Town 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 Wilmington/Philadelphia Regional Airport (ILG):

• On April 9, 2013 the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Frontier Airlines would begin service July 1 from Wilmington to Chicago-Midway, Orlando, Tampa, Houston, and Denver.
• United Airlines served Wilmington until 1991.
• The furthest airport from Wilmington/Philadelphia Regional Airport (ILG) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,724 miles (18,869 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In the late 1990s the county leased the debt-stricken airport to the bi-state Delaware River and Bay Authority, operators of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, on a thirty-year lease with the provision that the DRBA may seek up to two additional thirty-year leases.
• The closest airport to Wilmington/Philadelphia Regional Airport (ILG) is Philadelphia Seaplane BaseChandler Field (PSQ), which is located 21 miles (33 kilometers) NE of ILG.
• Wilmington/Philadelphia Regional Airport (ILG) has 3 runways.
• Because of Wilmington/Philadelphia Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 80 feet, planes can take off or land at Wilmington/Philadelphia Regional 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.
• After the war ended control of the airport was returned to civil authorities.
• Frontier flies three times a week to Atlanta, Chicago-Midway, Denver, Detroit, and Orlando, while flying once a week to Fort Myers and Tampa.

Facts about Cape Town International Airport (CPT):

• Cape Town International Airport handled 8,505,563 passengers last year.
• Because of Cape Town International Airport's relatively low elevation of 151 feet, planes can take off or land at Cape Town 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.
• The terminal building has a split-level design, with departures located in the upper floors and arrivals in the lower floors.
• Cape Town International Airport recorded 7.8 million passengers in 2008–2009, down from 8.4 million passengers the year before.
• Apart from completion of the 2010 expansion project, it has been proposed that a second runway for large aircraft be constructed at Cape Town International Airport.
• With the fall of apartheid in the early 1990s, ownership of the airport was transferred from the state to the newly formed Airports Company South Africa, and the airport was renamed to the politically neutral Cape Town International Airport.
• The closest airport to Cape Town International Airport (CPT) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 217 miles (349 kilometers) E of CPT.
• There is no direct rail access to Cape Town International Airport.
• Cape Town International Airport (CPT) has 2 runways.
• The airport has direct flights from South Africa's other two main urban areas, Johannesburg and Durban, as well as flights to smaller centres in South Africa.
• The furthest airport from Cape Town International Airport (CPT) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is located 11,616 miles (18,693 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
• Cape Town International Airport was opened in 1954, a year after Jan Smuts Airport on the Witwatersrand opened.