Nonstop flight route between Ronaldsway, Isle of Man, United Kingdom and Gaborone, Botswana:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Isle of Man Airport (IOM), Ronaldsway, Isle of Man, United Kingdom and Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE), Gaborone, Botswana would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,730 miles (or 9,222 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 Isle of Man Airport and Sir Seretse Khama 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 Isle of Man Airport and Sir Seretse Khama 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 Isle of Man Airport (IOM):

• The furthest airport from Isle of Man Airport (IOM) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,847 miles (19,066 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Isle of Man Airport (IOM) has 2 runways.
• Several Manx-based airlines were formed in the early postwar years to operate scheduled and charter services to the UK mainland.
• In addition to being known as "Isle of Man Airport", another name for IOM is "Purt Aer Vannin".
• The Isle of Man Railway also stops at the nearby Ronaldsway request stop, making possible a unique opportunity in the British Isles to travel to an airport behind a steam locomotive.
• Because of Isle of Man Airport's relatively low elevation of 52 feet, planes can take off or land at Isle of Man 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.
• In April 2008 Tynwald granted a major runway extension and resurfacing project at the airport.
• The closest airport to Isle of Man Airport (IOM) is Barrow/Walney Island Airport (BWF), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) E of IOM.
• Isle of Man Airport handled 739,683 passengers last year.
• Now a naval air station, RNAS Ronaldsway, the airport was taken out of commission in 1943 for almost twelve months of extensive development.

Facts about Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE):

• The furthest airport from Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is nearly antipodal to Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (meaning Sir Seretse Khama International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hana Airport), and is located 12,149 miles (19,552 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• Air Botswana plane at Khama Airport 2011
• Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) is Lobatse Airport (LOQ), which is located 46 miles (74 kilometers) SSW of GBE.
• On October 11, 1999, an Air Botswana pilot, Captain Chris Phatswe, commandeered a parked Aérospatiale ATR 42 aircraft A2-ABB without authorization in the early morning and took off.