Nonstop flight route between Mmabatho, South Africa and Butaritari Atoll, Kiribati:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mafikeng Airport (MBD), Mmabatho, South Africa and Butaritari Atoll Airport (BBG), Butaritari Atoll, Kiribati would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,758 miles (or 15,704 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 Mafikeng Airport and Butaritari Atoll 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 Mafikeng Airport and Butaritari Atoll 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 Mafikeng Airport (MBD):

• Because of Mafikeng Airport's high elevation of 4,181 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MBD. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MBD a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Mafikeng Airport", another name for MBD is "Mmabatho Airport".
• The closest airport to Mafikeng Airport (MBD) is Lobatse Airport (LOQ), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) NNE of MBD.
• The furthest airport from Mafikeng Airport (MBD) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is nearly antipodal to Mafikeng Airport (meaning Mafikeng Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kalaupapa Airport), and is located 12,081 miles (19,443 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
• Mafikeng Airport (MBD) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Butaritari Atoll Airport (BBG):

• Butaritari Atoll Airport is an airport on Butaritari in the Pacific Ocean island nation of Kiribati.
• The Americans pulled out at the end of 1944, abandoning the airfield.
• Butaritari Atoll Airport (BBG) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Butaritari Atoll Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Butaritari Atoll 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 closest airport to Butaritari Atoll Airport (BBG) is Marakei Airport (MZK), which is located 78 miles (126 kilometers) SSE of BBG.
• The furthest airport from Butaritari Atoll Airport (BBG) is Cape Palmas Airport (CPA), which is located 11,920 miles (19,183 kilometers) away in Cape Palmas, Liberia.
• The airfield was the base of operations for the United States Army Air Forces Seventh Air Force 41st Bombardment Group which flew four squadrons of B-25 Mitchell medium bombers.