Nonstop flight route between Portland, Maine, United States and Johannesburg, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Portland International Jetport (PWM), Portland, Maine, United States and Grand Central Airport (GCJ), Johannesburg, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,839 miles (or 12,615 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 Portland International Jetport and Grand Central 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 Portland International Jetport and Grand Central 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 Portland International Jetport (PWM):

• In 1972 Northeast Airlines was bought by Delta Air Lines which retained its routes to Bangor, Boston, and New York.
• In 2004 Runway 11/29 was lengthened to 7,200 feet.
• The airport is the busiest in the state.
• Some service began to return as the industry's economics improved in 2005 and 2006.
• Portland International Jetport (PWM) has 2 runways.
• Because of Portland International Jetport's relatively low elevation of 76 feet, planes can take off or land at Portland International Jetport 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 furthest airport from Portland International Jetport (PWM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,705 miles (18,838 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The present airport started to take shape in the 1950s.
• The closest airport to Portland International Jetport (PWM) is Naval Air Station Brunswick (NHZ), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NE of PWM.
• Peoplexpress Airlines arrived in 1983, the first jet competitor to Northeast/Delta at PWM.

Facts about Grand Central Airport (GCJ):

• Grand Central Airport (GCJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Grand Central Airport (GCJ) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,992 miles (19,299 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• Grand Central Airport is a small privately owned airfield which is open to public air traffic.
• The closest airport to Grand Central Airport (GCJ) is O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) SSE of GCJ.
• Because of Grand Central Airport's high elevation of 5,327 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GCJ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GCJ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• This is a small airfield that is restricted to light aircraft only.