Nonstop flight route between Mafeteng, Lesotho and Shanghai, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mafeteng Airport (MFC), Mafeteng, Lesotho and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA), Shanghai, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,468 miles (or 12,018 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 Mafeteng Airport and Shanghai Hongqiao 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 Mafeteng Airport and Shanghai Hongqiao 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 Mafeteng Airport (MFC):

• The furthest airport from Mafeteng Airport (MFC) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,788 miles (18,971 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
• Because of Mafeteng Airport's high elevation of 5,350 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MFC. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MFC a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Mafeteng Airport (MFC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Mafeteng Airport (MFC) is Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) NE of MFC.

Facts about Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA):

• An airport was first built in the town of Hongqiao in the west of Shanghai in 1907, initially as a small military airfield.
• The closest airport to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) is Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) E of SHA.
• Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport handled 33,851,200 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) is Comodoro Pierrestegui Airport (COC), which is nearly antipodal to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (meaning Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Comodoro Pierrestegui Airport), and is located 12,397 miles (19,951 kilometers) away in Concordia, Entre Ríos, Argentina.
• The proposed extension of the Shanghai Maglev Train from Longyang Road through Shanghai South Railway Station to Hongqiao would connect the two airports.
• Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) has 2 runways.
• On 1 January 2013, holders of passports issued by 45 countries do not need a visa if transiting through Hongqiao Airport provided they hold valid passports.
• Because of Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Shanghai Hongqiao 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.
• In addition to being known as "Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport", other names for SHA include "上海虹桥国际机场" and "Shànghǎi Hóngqiáo Guójì Jīchǎng".