Nonstop flight route between Lakeland, Florida, United States and Port Elizabeth, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL), Lakeland, Florida, United States and Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), Port Elizabeth, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,219 miles (or 13,227 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 Lakeland Linder Regional Airport and Port Elizabeth International 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 Lakeland Linder Regional Airport and Port Elizabeth International 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 Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL):

• In addition to being known as "Lakeland Linder Regional Airport", another name for LAL is "Drane Field".
• The closest airport to Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL) is Bartow Municipal Airport (BOW), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ESE of LAL.
• Because of Lakeland Linder Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 142 feet, planes can take off or land at Lakeland Linder 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.
• The city had barely begun work on the new airport when, with war already raging in Europe, it leased the facility to the War Department.
• Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL) has 2 runways.
• The Lakeland VORTAC is physically located on the airfield and all runways have high intensity runway lighting and P4L precision approach path indicator systems.
• The airport is also the official home of the Black Diamond Jet Team, a civilian aerobatic demonstration team which flies four Aero L-39 Albatros high performance trainers and two Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 fighter jets.
• The furthest airport from Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,466 miles (18,453 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• With the closure of Lodwick Aircraft, the city had decided to phase out Lodwick Field as a municipal airport in the summer of 1957 and concentrate its resources on Drane Field in south Lakeland.
• Lakeland Linder Regional Airport is a city owned, public use airport located four nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Lakeland, a city in Polk County, Florida, United States.

Facts about Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ):

• Because of Port Elizabeth International Airport's relatively low elevation of 226 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Elizabeth International 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 furthest airport from Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is located 11,567 miles (18,615 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
• The closest airport to Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 79 miles (127 kilometers) ENE of PLZ.
• Construction of the permanent terminal buildings, runways and an air traffic control building began in 1950.
• A highlight in Port Elizabeth's history was the first flight to Port Elizabeth from Cape Town in 1917, made by Major Allister Mackintosh Miller.
• June, 2010 - South African Airways operated an Airbus A340-200 to Port Elizabeth to help manage the extra volume of people during the FIFA World Cup 2010.
• Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ) has 2 runways.
• In preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup runway 08/26 was going to be extended from 1,980m to 3,000m with a view to accommodating International flights, although this never happened.
• Air Force Station Port Elizabeth is home to C Flight of 15 Squadron of the South African Air Force.