Nonstop flight route between Port Elizabeth, South Africa and Thessaloniki, Greece:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), Port Elizabeth, South Africa and Thessaloniki International Airport "Makedonia" (SKG), Thessaloniki, Greece would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,151 miles (or 8,289 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 Port Elizabeth International Airport and Thessaloniki International Airport "Makedonia", 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 Port Elizabeth International Airport and Thessaloniki International Airport "Makedonia". 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 Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ):

• The airport is located approximately two miles south of the city's central business district.
• The closest airport to Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 79 miles (127 kilometers) ENE of PLZ.
• Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is located 11,567 miles (18,615 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 226 feet above mean sea level.
• During World War II, the airfield was extended to accommodate 42 Air School for the Royal Air Force and 6 Squadron South African Air Force on the southern and eastern sides of the field.
• Because of Port Elizabeth International Airport's relatively low elevation of 226 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Elizabeth 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.
• 1 February 2008 - King Abdullah II of Jordan's Airbus A340-200 landed at Port Elizabeth as he makes his way down the Garden Route to Cape Town on a Harley-Davidson motorbike.
• In 2013, the airport served 1,269,634 passengers.

Facts about Thessaloniki International Airport "Makedonia" (SKG):

• The furthest airport from Thessaloniki International Airport "Makedonia" (SKG) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,419 miles (18,377 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• As part of a comprehensive masterplan released by the government in 2002, several projects have been started to improve Macedonia International Airport.
• Apart from passengers, the airport also handled 8.2 thousand tons of freight in 2010, a considerable drop from the 21.4 thousand tons it handled in 1997.
• In September 2010 it was announced that an extension of the under construction Thessaloniki Metro to the airport is under consideration.
• Thessaloniki International Airport "Makedonia" handled 4,085,032 passengers last year.
• Because of Thessaloniki International Airport "Makedonia"'s relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Thessaloniki International Airport "Makedonia" 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.
• Thessaloniki International Airport "Makedonia" (SKG) has 2 runways.
• During World War I the area that the airport currently occupies was used as an airfield and it continued operating as an airfield during World War II.
• The closest airport to Thessaloniki International Airport "Makedonia" (SKG) is Kozani National Airport (KZI), which is located 62 miles (99 kilometers) WSW of SKG.
• In addition to being known as "Thessaloniki International Airport "Makedonia"", another name for SKG is "Διεθνής Κρατικός Αερολιμένας Θεσσαλονίκης "Μακεδονία"".