Nonstop flight route between Hilo, Hawaii, United States and Gaborone, Botswana:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hilo International Airport (ITO), Hilo, Hawaii, United States and Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE), Gaborone, Botswana would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,097 miles (or 19,468 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 Hilo International 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 Hilo International Airport and Sir Seretse Khama International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between ITO and GBE makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Hilo International Airport and Sir Seretse Khama International Airport would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between ITO and GBE are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Hilo, Hawaii, United States and Gaborone, Botswana by taking some connecting flights!

Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between ITO and GBE!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Hilo International Airport (ITO):

• During the late 1950s Territorial leaders anticipated a boom in tourism, prompting plans for a second airport capable of accommodating large jet aircraft.
• Hilo International Airport (ITO) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Hilo International Airport (ITO) is Pōhakuloa Training Area (BSF), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) W of ITO.
• The furthest airport from Hilo International Airport (ITO) is Maun Airport (MUB), which is nearly antipodal to Hilo International Airport (meaning Hilo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maun Airport), and is located 12,336 miles (19,854 kilometers) away in Maun, Botswana.
• Today, Hilo International Airport is the smallest of the state's five major airports in terms of passenger arrivals and departures.
• Because of Hilo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 38 feet, planes can take off or land at Hilo 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.
• Although designed as the second gateway into and out of Hawaiʻi, for many years Hilo had been Hawaiʻi's only major airport lacking non-stop flights to North America.
• In the wake of ATA's bankruptcy, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported an undisclosed major U.S.
• Hilo International Airport handled 1,279,342 passengers last year.

Facts about Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE):

• Air Botswana plane at Khama Airport 2011
• 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.
• 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.
• Airport before expansion
• The closest airport to Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) is Lobatse Airport (LOQ), which is located 46 miles (74 kilometers) SSW of GBE.
• Botswana Defence Force Air Wing VIP Flight Wing is based at the airport.
• Airline sources say the pilot had been grounded on medical reasons, refused reinstatement and regrounded until February 2000.
• Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) currently has only 1 runway.