Nonstop flight route between Pensacola, Florida, United States and Cape Town, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA), Pensacola, Florida, United States and Cape Town International Airport (CPT), Cape Town, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,193 miles (or 13,186 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 Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field and Cape Town 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 Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field and Cape Town 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 Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA):

• Construction began in April 1826, and the Pensacola Navy Yard, also known as the Warrington Navy Yard, became one of the best equipped naval stations in the country.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field", another name for NPA is "KNPA - FAA: NPA".
• Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA) has 3 runways.
• Also located on board NAS Pensacola is Naval Aviation Schools Command.
• The site now occupied by NAS Pensacola has been controlled by varying nations.
• The furthest airport from Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,154 miles (17,951 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Station Field was created on the north side of the navy yard in 1922.
• Because of Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field's relatively low elevation of 28 feet, planes can take off or land at Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field 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 Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA) is NOLF Saufley Field (NUN), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NNW of NPA.
• Upon the entry of the United States into World War I on 6 April 1917, Pensacola, still the only naval air station, had 38 naval aviators, 163 enlisted men trained in aviation support, and 54 fixed-wing aircraft.

Facts about Cape Town International Airport (CPT):

• Cape Town International Airport was opened in 1954, a year after Jan Smuts Airport on the Witwatersrand opened.
• The furthest airport from Cape Town International Airport (CPT) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is located 11,616 miles (18,693 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
• Cape Town International Airport (CPT) has 2 runways.
• Because of Cape Town International Airport's relatively low elevation of 151 feet, planes can take off or land at Cape Town 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 closest airport to Cape Town International Airport (CPT) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 217 miles (349 kilometers) E of CPT.
• The terminal contains 10 air bridges, evenly split between domestic and international usage.
• With the fall of apartheid in the early 1990s, ownership of the airport was transferred from the state to the newly formed Airports Company South Africa, and the airport was renamed to the politically neutral Cape Town International Airport.
• The following is an example of information required by aircrew to operate at this airport.
• Cape Town International Airport handled 8,505,563 passengers last year.
• Cape Town International Airport is approximately 20 kilometres from the city centre and is accessible from the N2 freeway, with Airport Approach Road providing a direct link between the N2 and the airport.