Nonstop flight route between San Francisco, California, United States and Gaborone, Botswana:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States and Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE), Gaborone, Botswana would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,368 miles (or 16,686 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 Sir Seretse Khama 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 Sir Seretse Khama 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• The first international nonstops were ANA/BCPA DC-4s to Vancouver in 1946-47.
• On July 14, 2008, SFO was voted Best International Airport in North America for 2008 in the World Airports Survey by Skytrax.
• The airport closed following the Loma Prieta earthquake on October 17, 1989, reopening the following morning.
• AirTrain is the airport's people-mover system.
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has 4 runways.
• San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
• 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 "South Terminal," Terminal 1 has Boarding Area B and Boarding Area C.

Facts about Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE):

• Old interior of Khama Airport
• The closest airport to Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) is Lobatse Airport (LOQ), which is located 46 miles (74 kilometers) SSW of GBE.
• Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Air Botswana plane at Khama Airport 2011
• Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, located 15 kilometres north of Gaborone, is the main international airport of the capital city of Botswana.
• On October 11, 1999, an Air Botswana pilot, Captain Chris Phatswe, commandeered a parked Aérospatiale ATR 42 aircraft A2-ABB without authorization in the early morning and took off.
• The furthest airport from Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is nearly antipodal to Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (meaning Sir Seretse Khama International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hana Airport), and is located 12,149 miles (19,552 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.