Nonstop flight route between Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa and Shetland Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa and Scatsta Airport (SCS), Shetland Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,210 miles (or 9,993 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 Scatsta 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 Scatsta 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):

• 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.
• During busy periods, outbound flights use the western runway for take-off, while inbound flights use the eastern runway for landing.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "O. R. Tambo International Airport", another name for JNB is "Johannesburg International Airport".
• There are two parallel north-south runways and a disused cross runway.
• 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.
• O. R. Tambo International Airport handled 18,794,897 passengers last year.
• In November 2009 Air France announced the scheduled flights of their Airbus A380 into Johannesburg's O.R.
• On 26 November 2006, the airport became the first in Africa to host the Airbus A380.
• South African Airways is headquartered in Airways Park on the grounds of O.
• 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.

Facts about Scatsta Airport (SCS):

• The closest airport to Scatsta Airport (SCS) is Tingwall Airport (LWK), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) S of SCS.
• Because of Scatsta Airport's relatively low elevation of 81 feet, planes can take off or land at Scatsta 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 airport has recently undergone significant upgrades as increasing investment has been provided to support the North Sea offshore rigs.
• Scatsta Airport (SCS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Construction started in Spring 1940, of two runways.
• The airport was first developed in 1940 as RAF Scatsta, a Royal Air Force fighter plane base to support Coastal Command flying boat operations at RAF Sullom Voe, and was the most northerly base in the British Isles.
• The furthest airport from Scatsta Airport (SCS) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,409 miles (18,361 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.