Nonstop flight route between Nairobi, Kenya and Chicago, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO), Nairobi, Kenya and Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), Chicago, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,020 miles (or 12,906 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 Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Chicago Midway 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 Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Chicago Midway 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 Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO):

• In November 2012, KAA announced that Units 1, 2, and 3 would be renovated at a cost of 7.9 billion Kenyan shillings.
• Because of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport's high elevation of 5,327 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at NBO. Combined with a high temperature, this could make NBO a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Jomo Kenyatta International Airport handled 580,363 passengers last year.
• The original terminal, located on the north side of the runway, is used by the Kenya Air Force and is sometimes referred as Old Embakasi Airport.
• The furthest airport from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,621 miles (18,703 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• The airport served 5,803,635 passengers in 2011, making it the ninth-busiest airport in Africa by total passengers.
• On 9 March 1958, Embakasi Airport was opened by the last colonial governor of Kenya, Sir Evelyn Baring.
• Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) currently has only 1 runway.
• A new instrument landing system-equipped runway 5,500 metres in length has been approved for construction at a cost of 12.8 billion Kenyan shillings.
• The groundbreaking of a new passenger terminal dubbed the "Greenfield Terminal" with a capacity of 20 million passengers was held on 3 December 2013.
• The closest airport to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) is Wilson Airport (WIL), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) W of NBO.
• International arrivals are bused to a temporary facility set up in the ground floor of the new parkade.

Facts about Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW):

• The Chicago Transit Authority displaced the Carlton Midway Inn to open a new CTA terminal at the airport on October 31, 1993, for the new Chicago 'L' Orange Line that connected Midway to Chicago's Loop.
• Because of Chicago Midway International Airport's relatively low elevation of 620 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago Midway 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.
• The furthest airport from Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,083 miles (17,836 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) has 5 runways.
• The closest airport to Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) is Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) NNW of MDW.
• Simultaneous to Midway's expansion, ATA Airlines began rapid expansion at Midway in the early 2000s, and was the airport's dominant carrier prior to 2004, using 14 of the 17 gates in Concourse A.
• Chicago Midway Airport is the second-largest passenger airport in the state of Illinois after Chicago O'Hare International Airport.