Nonstop flight route between Southend, Essex (near London) United Kingdom and Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between London Southend Airport (SEN), Southend, Essex (near London) United Kingdom and O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,624 miles (or 9,051 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 London Southend 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 London Southend 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 London Southend Airport (SEN):

• The closest airport to London Southend Airport (SEN) is Rochester Airport (RCS), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) SSW of SEN.
• Annual passenger traffic first peaked in 1967, at 692,000.
• Because of London Southend Airport's relatively low elevation of 55 feet, planes can take off or land at London Southend 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.
• Southend was voted the best airport in Britain by the consumer group Which?
• East Anglian Flying Services moved to Southend on 5 January 1947, their first scheduled service being a Southend—Rochester feeder service.
• The furthest airport from London Southend Airport (SEN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,885 miles (19,126 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• London Southend Airport (SEN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Companies located at and around the airport employ over 1,000 skilled workers, providing services such as engineering and maintenance work on airliners, including re-spraying, refurbishment, upgrades to avionics, manufacture of aircraft seats and the installation of new or hush-kitted engines.
• Southend Airport has an excellent weather record and is used by airlines as a diversion alternative when adverse weather or incidents close other London airports.
• London Southend Airport handled 969,912 passengers last year.

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

• In addition to being known as "O. R. Tambo International Airport", another name for JNB is "Johannesburg International Airport".
• 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 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.
• 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.
• O. R. Tambo International Airport handled 18,794,897 passengers last year.
• South African Airways is headquartered in Airways Park on the grounds of O.
• It was used as a test airport for the Concorde during the 1970s, to determine how the aircraft would perform while taking off and landing at high altitude.
• A second terminal between the two runways has also been mooted, which is proposed for completion by 2012.
• Airports Company South Africa reported that major new developments took place at the airport, in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.