Nonstop flight route between Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal and Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between João Paulo II Airport (PDL), Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal and O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,630 miles (or 9,060 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 João Paulo II 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 João Paulo II 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 João Paulo II Airport (PDL):

• João Paulo II Airport, named after Pope John Paul II, is an airport located on the island of São Miguel, 2 km west of the city dock of Ponta Delgada on the Azores in Portugal.
• João Paulo II Airport (PDL) currently has only 1 runway.
• João Paulo II Airport handled 928,801 passengers last year.
• Because of João Paulo II Airport's relatively low elevation of 259 feet, planes can take off or land at João Paulo II 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 João Paulo II Airport (PDL) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) SSE of PDL.
• In addition to being known as "João Paulo II Airport", another name for PDL is "Aeroporto João Paulo II".
• The furthest airport from João Paulo II Airport (PDL) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to João Paulo II Airport (meaning João Paulo II Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,188 miles (19,615 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.

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

• In November 2009 Air France announced the scheduled flights of their Airbus A380 into Johannesburg's O.R.
• 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.
• South African Airways is headquartered in Airways Park on the grounds of O.
• On 10 January 2013 the airport's ICAO code was changed from FAJS to FAOR.
• In addition to being known as "O. R. Tambo International Airport", another name for JNB is "Johannesburg International Airport".
• 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.
• There are two parallel north-south runways and a disused cross runway.
• O. R. Tambo International Airport handled 18,794,897 passengers last year.
• O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) has 2 runways.
• 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.