Nonstop flight route between Plymouth, United Kingdom and East London, South Africa:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from PLH to ELS:
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- About this route
- PLH Airport Information
- ELS Airport Information
- Facts about PLH
- Facts about ELS
- Map of Nearest Airports to PLH
- List of Nearest Airports to PLH
- Map of Furthest Airports from PLH
- List of Furthest Airports from PLH
- Map of Nearest Airports to ELS
- List of Nearest Airports to ELS
- Map of Furthest Airports from ELS
- List of Furthest Airports from ELS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Plymouth City Airport (PLH), Plymouth, United Kingdom and East London Airport (ELS), East London, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,087 miles (or 9,796 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 Plymouth City Airport and East London 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 Plymouth City Airport and East London Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PLH / EGHD |
Airport Name: | Plymouth City Airport |
Location: | Plymouth, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 50°25'22"N by 4°6'20"W |
Area Served: | Plymouth |
Operator/Owner: | Plymouth City Council |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 476 feet (145 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PLH |
More Information: | PLH Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | ELS / FAEL |
Airport Name: | East London Airport |
Location: | East London, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°2'5"S by 27°49'17"E |
Area Served: | East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 436 feet (133 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from ELS |
More Information: | ELS Maps & Info |
Facts about Plymouth City Airport (PLH):
- The furthest airport from Plymouth City Airport (PLH) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is nearly antipodal to Plymouth City Airport (meaning Plymouth City Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dunedin International Airport), and is located 12,030 miles (19,361 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- The closest airport to Plymouth City Airport (PLH) is Exeter International Airport (EXT), which is located 37 miles (60 kilometers) NE of PLH.
- However, despite many local residents sharing the view that these developments represented the 'beginning of the end' for the airport, in October 2007 Air Southwest announced new routes to Dublin, Cork, Chambéry, Glasgow International Airport and Newcastle Airport.
- Plymouth City Airport handled 157,933 passengers last year.
- Further support for the continued use of the airport came in February 2008 when Air Southwest and the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce & Industry announced the results of an air travel survey aimed at over 200 businesses in Plymouth.
- The airport was officially closed by the Sutton Harbour Group on 23 December 2011.
- Air Southwest had its management head office at the airport, but announced that 12 jobs would be lost and its Plymouth office would close, moving instead to Humberside Airport, which is the main operations base for Eastern Airways.
- Plymouth City Airport was an airport located within the City of Plymouth 3.5 NM north northeast of the city centre in Devon, England at Roborough.
- Because of Plymouth City Airport's relatively low elevation of 476 feet, planes can take off or land at Plymouth City 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.
- Plymouth City Airport (PLH) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about East London Airport (ELS):
- The closest airport to East London Airport (ELS) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WSW of ELS.
- The furthest airport from East London Airport (ELS) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,569 miles (18,618 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
- East London Airport (ELS) has 2 runways.
- East London's airport is a small but bustling one that plays an important role in the growing economy of the Eastern Cape.
- In 1944 a new airport was built at Collondale, about 2 km west of the present terminal building.
- Because of East London Airport's relatively low elevation of 436 feet, planes can take off or land at East London 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.