Nonstop flight route between San Jose, California, United States and Maseru, Lesotho:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC), San Jose, California, United States and Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU), Maseru, Lesotho would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,603 miles (or 17,064 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 Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport and Moshoeshoe I 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 Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport and Moshoeshoe I 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 Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC):

• Reduction at SJC continued throughout 2004.
• The furthest airport from Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,363 miles (18,287 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) is Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County (RHV), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) ESE of SJC.
• Because of Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport's relatively low elevation of 62 feet, planes can take off or land at Norman Y. Mineta San Jose 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.
• Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) has 3 runways.
• On February 4, 2013, Virgin America announced it will begin service from San Jose to Los Angeles International Airport on May 1, 2013, with four daily nonstop flights each way.
• Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport handled 8,357,384 passengers last year.
• Designed by a team of architects and engineers led by HTB, Inc., Terminal A and its adjoining parking garage were originally designed and built in 1990 for American Airlines.
• In November 2001 the airport was renamed after Norman Yoshio Mineta, a native of San Jose, its former mayor and congressman, former United States Secretary of Commerce and former United States Secretary of Transportation.

Facts about Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU):

• Because of Moshoeshoe I International Airport's high elevation of 5,348 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MSU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MSU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU) is Mafeteng Airport (MFC), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) SW of MSU.
• The furthest airport from Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,801 miles (18,991 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.