Nonstop flight route between Knock, Ireland and Francistown, Botswana:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC), Knock, Ireland and Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW), Francistown, Botswana would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,618 miles (or 9,041 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 Ireland West Airport Knock and Francistown International Airport/Francistown 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 Ireland West Airport Knock and Francistown International Airport/Francistown 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 Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC):

• In 2008 a record 629,000 passengers used the airport, a 13% rise compared to the previous year.
• In addition to being known as "Ireland West Airport Knock", other names for NOC include "Horan International Airport" and "Aerfort Iarthar Éireann".
• Ireland West Airport Knock handled 665,000 passengers last year.
• Because of Ireland West Airport Knock's relatively low elevation of 665 feet, planes can take off or land at Ireland West Airport Knock 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.
• Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,934 miles (19,206 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• In 2011, the month of August was the busiest in the airport's history with 84,052 passengers.
• The closest airport to Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC) is Sligo Airport (SXL), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) NNE of NOC.
• In 2005 the airport changed its name to Ireland West Airport Knock.
• Departing passengers aged 12 years and over pay a "Development Fee" of €10.

Facts about Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW):

• The closest airport to Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) is Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ), which is located 108 miles (174 kilometers) NE of FRW.
• The furthest airport from Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (meaning Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,246 miles (19,707 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• The estimated cost for all three expansion phases is expected to exceed P500 million, and will all be completed at the same time, around May 2010.
• In addition to being known as "Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base", another name for FRW is "FBFT [1]".
• The new terminal building opened in 2011 and the old terminal is now used by the Botswana Defence Force.
• Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) has 2 runways.
• However, currently the project is expected to miss its May deadline, after the airport in Gaborone also missed its deadline set date for May 10, 2010, with contractors at both sites struggling to finalise each stage of construction in time.