Nonstop flight route between San Diego, California, United States and Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Diego International Airport (SAN), San Diego, California, United States and O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,317 miles (or 16,604 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 O. R. Tambo 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 O. R. Tambo 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 closest airport to San Diego International Airport (SAN) is NAS North Island (NZY), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of SAN.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "San Diego International Airport", another name for SAN is "Lindbergh Field".
• The busiest route by flight count is to Los Angeles with 27 daily round trips on United Express, American Eagle, and Delta Connection.
• 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.
• San Diego International Airport's expansion program, dubbed "The Green Build", is expected to help the airport meet current and future travel demands.
• San Diego International Airport (SAN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Pacific Southwest Airlines established its headquarters in San Diego and started service at Lindbergh Field in 1949.
• Runway 27, is a localizer-only approach and is unusable for landing when visibility drops below about 2 miles.

Facts about O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB):

• A second terminal between the two runways has also been mooted, which is proposed for completion by 2012.
• In late 2005, a name change was proposed for the airport to "O.
• In addition to being known as "O. R. Tambo International Airport", another name for JNB is "Johannesburg International Airport".
• O. R. Tambo International Airport handled 18,794,897 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,979 miles (19,279 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• The airport was founded in 1952 as "Jan Smuts Airport", two years after his death, near the town of Kempton Park on the East Rand.
• The closest airport to O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) is Rand Airport (QRA), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SW of JNB.
• O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) has 2 runways.
• During busy periods, outbound flights use the western runway for take-off, while inbound flights use the eastern runway for landing.
• In November 2009 Air France announced the scheduled flights of their Airbus A380 into Johannesburg's O.R.
• Because of O. R. Tambo International Airport's high elevation of 5,558 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at JNB. Combined with a high temperature, this could make JNB a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.