Nonstop flight route between Kansas City, Missouri, United States and Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport (MKC), Kansas City, Missouri, United States and O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,049 miles (or 14,563 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 Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport and O. R. Tambo 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 Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport and O. R. Tambo 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 Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport (MKC):

• The airport had limited area for expansion.
• The airport is on the north side of the confluence of the Kansas River and Missouri River.
• Construction on runway 1-19 is complete and both runways are in use to their full length.
• The furthest airport from Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport (MKC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,758 miles (17,313 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport (MKC) has 2 runways.
• Because of Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport's relatively low elevation of 756 feet, planes can take off or land at Charles B. Wheeler Downtown 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 Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport (MKC) is Kansas City International Airport (MCI), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) NNW of MKC.

Facts about O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB):

• The two terminals A and B have been restructured.
• O. R. Tambo International Airport handled 18,794,897 passengers last year.
• It was used as a test airport for the Concorde during the 1970s, to determine how the aircraft would perform while taking off and landing at high altitude.
• The furthest airport from O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,979 miles (19,279 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• During busy periods, outbound flights use the western runway for take-off, while inbound flights use the eastern runway for landing.
• The closest airport to O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) is Rand Airport (QRA), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SW of JNB.
• O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) has 2 runways.
• A second terminal between the two runways has also been mooted, which is proposed for completion by 2012.
• In addition to being known as "O. R. Tambo International Airport", another name for JNB is "Johannesburg International Airport".
• In late 2005, a name change was proposed for the airport to "O.
• Because of O. R. Tambo International Airport's high elevation of 5,558 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at JNB. Combined with a high temperature, this could make JNB a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.