Nonstop flight route between Mmabatho, South Africa and Balikpapan, East Kalimantan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mafikeng Airport (MBD), Mmabatho, South Africa and Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport (BPN), Balikpapan, East Kalimantan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,264 miles (or 10,081 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 Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman 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 Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman 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):

• The closest airport to Mafikeng Airport (MBD) is Lobatse Airport (LOQ), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) NNE of MBD.
• Mafikeng Airport (MBD) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Mafikeng Airport", another name for MBD is "Mmabatho Airport".
• 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.

Facts about Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport (BPN):

• The construction of Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport started in the Dutch colonial era before Indonesian independence.
• More renovations will be completed in 2014, including the addition of an airport mall—the first such shopping area at any airport in Indonesia.
• Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport (BPN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport handled 5,680,961 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport (BPN) is Barcelos Airport (BAZ), which is nearly antipodal to Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport (meaning Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barcelos Airport), and is located 12,281 miles (19,764 kilometers) away in Barcelos, Amazonas, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport (BPN) is Bontang Airport (BXT), which is located 104 miles (168 kilometers) NNE of BPN.
• Because of Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport's relatively low elevation of 12 feet, planes can take off or land at Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman 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.