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

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SAN to CPT:
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- About this route
- SAN Airport Information
- CPT Airport Information
- Facts about SAN
- Facts about CPT
- Map of Nearest Airports to SAN
- List of Nearest Airports to SAN
- Map of Furthest Airports from SAN
- List of Furthest Airports from SAN
- Map of Nearest Airports to CPT
- List of Nearest Airports to CPT
- Map of Furthest Airports from CPT
- List of Furthest Airports from CPT
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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SAN / KSAN |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | San Diego, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 32°44'0"N by 117°11'22"W |
Area Served: | Greater San Diego |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 17 feet (5 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SAN |
More Information: | SAN Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | CPT / FACT |
Airport Name: | Cape Town International Airport |
Location: | Cape Town, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°58'9"S by 18°35'49"E |
Area Served: | Cape Town |
Operator/Owner: | Airports Company South Africa |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 151 feet (46 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from CPT |
More Information: | CPT Maps & Info |
Facts about San Diego International Airport (SAN):
- San Diego International Airport (SAN) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- 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 original terminal was on the north side of the airport and was used until the 1960s.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "San Diego International Airport", another name for SAN is "Lindbergh Field".
- The airport has domestic flights, as well as international flights to Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Japan.
- Runway 27, is a localizer-only approach and is unusable for landing when visibility drops below about 2 miles.
- In January 2008, San Diego International Airport entered the blogosphere with the launch of the first employee blog – the Ambassablog – for a major U.S.
- 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.
Facts about Cape Town International Airport (CPT):
- Cape Town International Airport (CPT) has 2 runways.
- 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.
- Cape Town International Airport handled 8,505,563 passengers last year.
- 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.
- The airport provides approximately 1,424 parking bays in the general parking area, and 1,748 parking bays in the multi-storey parkade located near the domestic terminal.
- The closest airport to Cape Town International Airport (CPT) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 217 miles (349 kilometers) E of CPT.
- Retail outlets are located on the lower level of the terminal at landside, as well as airside at the departure gates.
- 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.