Nonstop flight route between Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa and Frankfurt, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa and Frankfurt Airport (FRA), Frankfurt, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,400 miles (or 8,690 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 Frankfurt 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 Frankfurt 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):

• Airports Company South Africa reported that major new developments took place at the airport, in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
• 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".
• 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.
• A second terminal between the two runways has also been mooted, which is proposed for completion by 2012.
• O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) has 2 runways.
• Critics noted the considerable expense involved in renaming the airport, and the decision to use a politician as the name would be obscure, confusing and in some instances, offensive.
• 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 airport overtook Cairo International Airport in 1996 as the busiest airport in Africa and is the third-busiest airport in the Africa–Middle East region after Dubai International Airport and Doha International Airport.

Facts about Frankfurt Airport (FRA):

• Frankfurt Airport handled 5,752,725 passengers last year.
• Plans to build a fourth runway at Frankfurt Airport had been under-way since 1997 but due to the violent conflicts with the building of the third runway, Fraport let residents groups and environmentalists participate in the process to find an agreeable solution.
• Because of Frankfurt Airport's relatively low elevation of 364 feet, planes can take off or land at Frankfurt 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.
• With the foundation of Deutsche Luft Hansa in 1926 a rapid boom of civilian air travel started and soon the airship base became too small to handle the demand.
• In addition to being known as "Frankfurt Airport", another name for FRA is "Flughafen Frankfurt am Main".
• In 1990, work on a new terminal began because it was anticipated that Terminal Mitte would reach its capacity limit sooner than expected.
• The runway officially went into operation on 20 October 2011, with an aircraft carrying Chancellor Angela Merkel performing the first landing on 21 October.
• Frankfurt Airport has two large main passenger terminals and a much smaller dedicated First Class Terminal which is operated and exclusively used by Lufthansa.
• Frankfurt Airport is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centers.
• The closest airport to Frankfurt Airport (FRA) is Lucius D. Clay KaserneWiesbaden Army AirfieldWiesbaden Air BaseAdvanced Landing Ground Y-80Fliegerhorst Wiesbaden (WIE), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) W of FRA.
• Frankfurt Airport (FRA) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Frankfurt Airport (FRA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,946 miles (19,225 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.