Nonstop flight route between Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa and Madurai, India:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa and Madurai Airport (IXM), Madurai, India would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,168 miles (or 6,707 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 Madurai 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 Madurai 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):

• The airport was founded in 1952 as "Jan Smuts Airport", two years after his death, near the town of Kempton Park on the East Rand.
• O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) has 2 runways.
• 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 closest airport to O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) is Rand Airport (QRA), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SW of JNB.
• In addition to being known as "O. R. Tambo International Airport", another name for JNB is "Johannesburg International Airport".
• O. R. Tambo International Airport handled 18,794,897 passengers last year.
• 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.
• On 10 January 2013 the airport's ICAO code was changed from FAJS to FAOR.
• A second terminal between the two runways has also been mooted, which is proposed for completion by 2012.

Facts about Madurai Airport (IXM):

• The furthest airport from Madurai Airport (IXM) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,407 miles (18,358 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• The closest airport to Madurai Airport (IXM) is Tiruchirappalli International Airport (TRZ), which is located 77 miles (124 kilometers) NNE of IXM.
• Because of Madurai Airport's relatively low elevation of 446 feet, planes can take off or land at Madurai 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.
• Madurai Airport (IXM) currently has only 1 runway.
• Madurai Airport is a customs airport serving Madurai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
• The new terminal has two lounges, VIP lounge managed by AAI and Commercial Important persons lounge managed by TNCC-Madurai.
• It was identified as one of 35 non-metro airports for modernization, and thus the new integrated terminal building was inaugurated on 12 September 2010.