Nonstop flight route between Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa and Albert Lea, Minnesota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa and Albert Lea Municipal Airport (AEL), Albert Lea, Minnesota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,991 miles (or 14,470 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 O. R. Tambo International Airport and Albert Lea Municipal 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 O. R. Tambo International Airport and Albert Lea Municipal 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 O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB):

• In late 2005, a name change was proposed for the airport to "O.
• O. R. Tambo International Airport handled 18,794,897 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "O. R. Tambo International Airport", another name for JNB is "Johannesburg International Airport".
• It was used as a test airport for the Concorde during the 1970s, to determine how the aircraft would perform while taking off and landing at high altitude.
• A second terminal between the two runways has also been mooted, which is proposed for completion by 2012.
• During busy periods, outbound flights use the western runway for take-off, while inbound flights use the eastern runway for landing.
• O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,979 miles (19,279 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• The closest airport to O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) is Rand Airport (QRA), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SW of JNB.
• Because of O. R. Tambo International Airport's high elevation of 5,558 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at JNB. Combined with a high temperature, this could make JNB a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• It was formerly officially known as Johannesburg International Airport and before that as Jan Smuts International Airport after South Africa's internationally renowned statesman by that name.

Facts about Albert Lea Municipal Airport (AEL):

• Albert Lea Municipal Airport (AEL) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Albert Lea Municipal Airport (AEL) is Austin Municipal Airport (AUM), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) E of AEL.
• Albert Lea Municipal Airport was recently granted over $3 million in federal economic stimulus funds to relocate the main runway.
• Albert Lea Municipal Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located three nautical miles north of the central business district of the city of Albert Lea, in Freeborn County, Minnesota, United States.
• The furthest airport from Albert Lea Municipal Airport (AEL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,773 miles (17,338 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In the last 15 years, there have been 8 major soaring contests at the Albert Lea Airport.