Nonstop flight route between Rochester, Minnesota, United States and Mmabatho, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rochester International Airport (RST), Rochester, Minnesota, United States and Mafikeng Airport (MBD), Mmabatho, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,800 miles (or 14,162 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 Rochester International Airport and Mafikeng 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 Rochester International Airport and Mafikeng 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 Rochester International Airport (RST):

• Rochester International Airport (RST) has 2 runways.
• A five passenger plane en route to Rochester crashed in Lake Michigan, killing the four passengers, but the pilot did survive.
• In 1960, Rochester International Airport opened at its current location 8 miles south of downtown Rochester.
• The furthest airport from Rochester International Airport (RST) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,811 miles (17,399 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Rochester International Airport (RST) is Austin Municipal Airport (AUM), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SW of RST.
• In 1960 it was decided to replace Lobb Field with a new airport southwest of the town because it could not be expanded to accommodate the larger airliners & was too close to the urban area of Rochester.
• In August 2012, just days after Allegiant Air announced flights between Rochester and Phoenix, the United States Department of Transportation gave the airport $500,000 and the city of Rochester gave the airport $250,000 to help recruit more airlines and non-stop destinations.
• Rochester International Airport is a nonhub primary airport located seven miles southwest of the central business district of Rochester, a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States.

Facts about Mafikeng Airport (MBD):

• The closest airport to Mafikeng Airport (MBD) is Lobatse Airport (LOQ), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) NNE of MBD.
• Because of Mafikeng Airport's high elevation of 4,181 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MBD. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MBD a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Mafikeng Airport (MBD) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is nearly antipodal to Mafikeng Airport (meaning Mafikeng Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kalaupapa Airport), and is located 12,081 miles (19,443 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
• Mafikeng Airport (MBD) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Mafikeng Airport", another name for MBD is "Mmabatho Airport".