Nonstop flight route between San Francisco, California, United States and Mmabatho, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States and Mafikeng Airport (MBD), Mmabatho, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,395 miles (or 16,729 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 Mafikeng 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 Mafikeng 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):

• 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.
• After the war United Airlines used the Pan Am terminal 37°38′05″N 122°23′24″W / 37.6347°N 122.39°W / 37.6347.
• The first international nonstops were ANA/BCPA DC-4s to Vancouver in 1946-47.
• Before the 1930s, airports used a two-byte abbreviation.
• 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.
• 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.
• San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
• All SkyTeam, Oneworld and non-aligned international carriers operate from Boarding Area A.
• SFO is owned and policed by the City and County of San Francisco, but is located in and entirely surrounded by adjacent San Mateo County.
• On July 14, 2008, SFO was voted Best International Airport in North America for 2008 in the World Airports Survey by Skytrax.

Facts about Mafikeng Airport (MBD):

• The closest airport to Mafikeng Airport (MBD) is Lobatse Airport (LOQ), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) NNE of MBD.
• The furthest airport from Mafikeng Airport (MBD) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is nearly antipodal to Mafikeng Airport (meaning Mafikeng Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kalaupapa Airport), and is located 12,081 miles (19,443 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
• In addition to being known as "Mafikeng Airport", another name for MBD is "Mmabatho Airport".
• Mafikeng Airport (MBD) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Mafikeng Airport's high elevation of 4,181 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MBD. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MBD a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.