Nonstop flight route between San Diego, California, United States and Cape Town, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Diego International Airport (SAN), San Diego, California, United States and Cape Town International Airport (CPT), Cape Town, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,904 miles (or 15,938 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 San Diego International Airport and Cape Town International 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 San Diego International Airport and Cape Town International 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 San Diego International Airport (SAN):

• The airport has domestic flights, as well as international flights to Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Japan.
• In addition to being known as "San Diego International Airport", another name for SAN is "Lindbergh Field".
• Pacific Southwest Airlines established its headquarters in San Diego and started service at Lindbergh Field in 1949.
• The furthest airport from San Diego International Airport (SAN) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,540 miles (18,571 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to San Diego International Airport (SAN) is NAS North Island (NZY), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of SAN.
• Because of San Diego International Airport's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at San Diego 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.
• Landing at the airport from the east offers closeup views of skyscrapers, Petco Park, and the Coronado Bridge from the left side of the aircraft.
• San Diego International Airport (SAN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Japan Airlines began service to Tokyo-Narita on December 2, 2012, using the Boeing 787 aircraft.
• Convair had aircraft manufacturing plants near the field and used it for test and delivery flights from 1935 to 1995.
• The approach from the east is steeper than most due to terrain which drops from 266 ft to sea level in less than one nautical mile.
• The airport was the first federally certified airfield to serve all aircraft types, including seaplanes.
• The top five airlines by market share in 2011 are Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and Alaska Airlines.

Facts about Cape Town International Airport (CPT):

• The terminal building has a split-level design, with departures located in the upper floors and arrivals in the lower floors.
• There is no direct rail access to Cape Town International Airport.
• The closest airport to Cape Town International Airport (CPT) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 217 miles (349 kilometers) E of CPT.
• The terminal contains 10 air bridges, evenly split between domestic and international usage.
• The MyCiTi bus rapid transit system provides a shuttle service connecting the airport with the Civic Centre bus station in the city centre.
• Cape Town International Airport handled 8,505,563 passengers last year.
• Because of Cape Town International Airport's relatively low elevation of 151 feet, planes can take off or land at Cape Town 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.
• With the fall of apartheid in the early 1990s, ownership of the airport was transferred from the state to the newly formed Airports Company South Africa, and the airport was renamed to the politically neutral Cape Town International Airport.
• Cape Town International Airport (CPT) has 2 runways.
• Cape Town International Airport was opened in 1954, a year after Jan Smuts Airport on the Witwatersrand opened.
• The furthest airport from Cape Town International Airport (CPT) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is located 11,616 miles (18,693 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.