Nonstop flight route between Pietermaritzburg, South Africa and Houston, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), Pietermaritzburg, South Africa and Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD), Houston, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,199 miles (or 14,804 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 Pietermaritzburg Airport and Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field, 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 Pietermaritzburg Airport and Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field. 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 Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB):

• The closest airport to Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB) is King Shaka International (DUR), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) E of PZB.
• Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,706 miles (18,839 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.

Facts about Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD):

• Ellington was considered surplus to requirements after World War I and the base was inactivated as an active duty airfield in January 1920.
• The base, which consisted of a few hangars and some wooden headquarters buildings, was completed in a matter of months.
• In 1948, Ellington Airport was one of many airfields selected to be reactivated in an effort to maintain a large military force in the United States after World War II.
• World War II, with its increasing need for trained pilots, helped to reestablish Ellington Field as an active facility.
• In addition to being known as "Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field", another name for EFD is "Ellington Field JRB".
• The closest airport to Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD) is William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of EFD.
• The Texas National Guard and 36th Infantry Division bought most of the airfield's buildings, but the field remained unused.
• The United States Air Force's 147th Reconnaissance Wing is an Air National Guard unit operationally-gained by the Air Combat Command.
• Ellington Field was also a site for the USAAC Bombardier School, also known as "the Bombardment Academy of the Air." At Ellington Field, officials planned to train 4,480 bombardier cadets per year.
• Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base is a joint installation shared by various active component and reserve component military units, as well as aircraft flight operations of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under the aegis of the nearby Johnson Space Center.
• The furthest airport from Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,008 miles (17,716 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.