Nonstop flight route between Hilo, Hawaii, United States and Polokwane, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hilo International Airport (ITO), Hilo, Hawaii, United States and Polokwane International Airport (PTG), Polokwane, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,031 miles (or 19,362 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 Polokwane 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 Polokwane International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between ITO and PTG makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Hilo International Airport and Polokwane 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 PTG are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Hilo, Hawaii, United States and Polokwane, South Africa 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 PTG!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Hilo International Airport (ITO):

• The main passenger terminal consists of three interconnected buildings totaling approximately 220,000 square feet.
• The passenger terminal complex, including commuter facilities, is at the southern edge of Hilo International Airport and is served by an access roadway from Hawaii Belt Road at Kekūanaōʻa Avenue.
• 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.
• Hilo International Airport (ITO) has 2 runways.
• Efforts finally had some success on April 28, 2006, when ATA Airlines re-established daily non-stop service between Hilo and Oakland International Airport in California aboard its Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
• 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.
• In 1973, for example, the total passenger count at Hilo International Airport was 1,357,818.
• Hilo International Airport handled 1,279,342 passengers last year.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Hilo International Airport (ITO) is Pōhakuloa Training Area (BSF), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) W of ITO.
• The end of the war did not immediately bring about a return to civilian control of General Lyman Field.

Facts about Polokwane International Airport (PTG):

• Because of Polokwane International Airport's high elevation of 4,076 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at PTG. Combined with a high temperature, this could make PTG a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Polokwane International Airport", another name for PTG is "Gateway International Airport".
• Polokwane International Airport (PTG) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Polokwane International Airport (PTG) is Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS), which is located 106 miles (171 kilometers) ESE of PTG.
• The furthest airport from Polokwane International Airport (PTG) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Polokwane International Airport (meaning Polokwane International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,031 miles (19,362 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.