Nonstop flight route between Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa and Alton, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa and St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN), Alton, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,804 miles (or 14,169 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 St. Louis Regional 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 St. Louis Regional 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 addition to being known as "O. R. Tambo International Airport", another name for JNB is "Johannesburg International Airport".
• Airports Company South Africa reported that major new developments took place at the airport, in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
• 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 handled 18,794,897 passengers last year.
• 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.
• 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.
• South African Airways is headquartered in Airways Park on the grounds of O.
• On 10 January 2013 the airport's ICAO code was changed from FAJS to FAOR.
• O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) has 2 runways.
• 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 St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN):

• The closest airport to St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN) is Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) WSW of ALN.
• Because of St. Louis Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 544 feet, planes can take off or land at St. Louis 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.
• In the spring of 2004 the airport was at the center of a scandal.
• Today a fair amount of air traffic and the Direct TV blimp comes for Cardinals playoffs, as Lambert's airport cannot take the blimp.
• St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,002 miles (17,706 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.