Nonstop flight route between St. Moritz / Samedan, Switzerland and East London, South Africa:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SMV to ELS:
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- About this route
- SMV Airport Information
- ELS Airport Information
- Facts about SMV
- Facts about ELS
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMV
- List of Nearest Airports to SMV
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMV
- List of Furthest Airports from SMV
- Map of Nearest Airports to ELS
- List of Nearest Airports to ELS
- Map of Furthest Airports from ELS
- List of Furthest Airports from ELS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Samedan Airport (SMV), St. Moritz / Samedan, Switzerland and East London Airport (ELS), East London, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,610 miles (or 9,029 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 Samedan Airport and East London 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 Samedan Airport and East London Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMV / LSZS |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | St. Moritz / Samedan, Switzerland |
GPS Coordinates: | 46°32'2"N by 9°53'2"E |
Area Served: | St. Moritz, Switzerland |
Airport Type: | Public and military |
Elevation: | 5600 feet (1,707 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMV |
More Information: | SMV Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | ELS / FAEL |
Airport Name: | East London Airport |
Location: | East London, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°2'5"S by 27°49'17"E |
Area Served: | East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 436 feet (133 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from ELS |
More Information: | ELS Maps & Info |
Facts about Samedan Airport (SMV):
- In addition to being known as "Samedan Airport", another name for SMV is "Flughafen Engadin".
- Because of Samedan Airport's high elevation of 5,600 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SMV. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SMV a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The furthest airport from Samedan Airport (SMV) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Samedan Airport (meaning Samedan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,075 miles (19,433 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- The airport was used as one of the locations for filming "Where Eagles Dare".
- The closest airport to Samedan Airport (SMV) is Lugano Airport (LUG), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) SW of SMV.
- The airport has one runway designated 03/21 with an asphalt pavement measuring 1800 x 40 metres.
- Samedan Airport (SMV) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about East London Airport (ELS):
- The airport was renamed in 1994.
- The closest airport to East London Airport (ELS) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WSW of ELS.
- East London Airport (ELS) has 2 runways.
- The airport had an inauspicious beginning in 1927, when Lieut Colonel Alistair Miller asked the East London town council to help establish a municipal aerodrome at Woodbrook, west of the city.
- Passenger flights were undertaken by two de Havilland Moth planes on Saturday afternoons and all day on Sundays, weather permitting.
- Because of East London Airport's relatively low elevation of 436 feet, planes can take off or land at East London 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 East London Airport (ELS) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,569 miles (18,618 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.