Nonstop flight route between San Francisco, California, United States and Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States and Bloemfontein International Airport (BFN), Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,546 miles (or 16,972 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 Francisco International Airport and Bloemfontein 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 Francisco International Airport and Bloemfontein 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 Francisco International Airport (SFO):

• San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
• Before the 1930s, airports used a two-byte abbreviation.
• SFO experiences delays in overcast weather when only two of the airport's four runways can be used at a time because the centerlines of the parallel runways are only 750 feet apart.
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has 4 runways.
• Because of San Francisco International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at San Francisco 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.
• United Airlines used Mills Field as well as the Oakland Municipal Airport starting in the 1930s.
• San Francisco International Airport is an international airport located 13 miles south of downtown San Francisco, California, near Millbrae and San Bruno in unincorporated San Mateo County.
• The airport opened on May 7, 1927, on 150 acres of cow pasture.
• On July 14, 2008, SFO was voted Best International Airport in North America for 2008 in the World Airports Survey by Skytrax.
• The closest airport to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Half Moon Bay AirportHalf Moon Bay Flight Strip (HAF), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) SW of SFO.
• Formerly known as the "North Terminal," Terminal 3 has Boarding Area E and Boarding Area F has 26 gates.
• The furthest airport from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.

Facts about Bloemfontein International Airport (BFN):

• Bloemfontein International Airport (BFN) has 2 runways.
• Because of Bloemfontein International Airport's high elevation of 4,457 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BFN. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BFN a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Bloemfontein International Airport (BFN) is Mafeteng Airport (MFC), which is located 75 miles (120 kilometers) SE of BFN.
• South African Express is the operator with the most scheduled flights to Bloemfontein.
• The furthest airport from Bloemfontein International Airport (BFN) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,855 miles (19,079 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.