Nonstop flight route between Mmabatho, South Africa and Salinas, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mafikeng Airport (MBD), Mmabatho, South Africa and Salinas Municipal AirportSalinas Army Air Base (SNS), Salinas, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,369 miles (or 16,687 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 Salinas Municipal AirportSalinas Army Air Base, 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 Salinas Municipal AirportSalinas Army Air Base. 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• Mafikeng Airport (MBD) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Salinas Municipal AirportSalinas Army Air Base (SNS):

• The 71st Observation Group replaced the 69th in December 1941, moving in from Third Air Force at Birmingham Airport, Alabama.
• The 451st AAFBU concluded its training of replacement pilots in May 1945 and operations at the airfield were phased down to a standby status.
• The closest airport to Salinas Municipal AirportSalinas Army Air Base (SNS) is Monterey Regional Airport (MRY), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) WSW of SNS.
• The airfield opened in late 1941 as Salinas Army Air Field.
• Salinas Municipal AirportSalinas Army Air Base (SNS) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Salinas Municipal AirportSalinas Army Air Base (SNS) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,387 miles (18,326 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Because of Salinas Municipal AirportSalinas Army Air Base's relatively low elevation of 85 feet, planes can take off or land at Salinas Municipal AirportSalinas Army Air Base 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.