Nonstop flight route between Roanoke, Virginia, United States and Grootfontein, Namibia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA), Roanoke, Virginia, United States and Grootfontein Airport (GFY), Grootfontein, Namibia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,462 miles (or 12,009 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport and Grootfontein 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport and Grootfontein 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA):

• In addition to being known as "Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport", another name for ROA is "Woodrum Field".
• In the time since the initial commercial service to Roanoke commenced in 1933, various airlines have offered non-stop service to and from Roanoke.
• Due to the size and layout of its runways, the airport has been rated among the top ten airports within a couple of hours of Andrews Air Force Base for training pilots in the 89th Operations Group.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 315,293 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 297,588 enplanements in 2009, and 316,478 in 2010.
• In an effort to add more options for travelers in Roanoke, the airport added non-stop service to Orlando in May 2006 and Tampa in December 2006 with Allegiant Air.
• Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport (BCB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) WSW of ROA.
• During the period of Piedmont’s dominance, several regional airlines established service to Roanoke only to later pull out.
• When facilities reached their maximum capacity, the need for upgrades became necessary for the airport to continue to grow.
• The furthest airport from Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,559 miles (18,603 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Grootfontein Airport (GFY):

• The closest airport to Grootfontein Airport (GFY) is Halali Airport (HAL), which is located 115 miles (186 kilometers) WNW of GFY.
• Grootfontein Airport (GFY) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Grootfontein Airport (GFY) is PMRF Barking Sands (BKH), which is nearly antipodal to Grootfontein Airport (meaning Grootfontein Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from PMRF Barking Sands), and is located 12,222 miles (19,669 kilometers) away in Kekaha, Hawaii, United States.
• Because of Grootfontein Airport's high elevation of 4,636 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GFY. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GFY a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Grootfontein Airport", another name for GFY is "Grootfontein Airport".