Nonstop flight route between Semonkong, Lesotho and Birmingham, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Semonkong Airport (SOK), Semonkong, Lesotho and Birmingham Airport (BHX), Birmingham, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,964 miles (or 9,598 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 Semonkong Airport and Birmingham 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 Semonkong Airport and Birmingham 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 Semonkong Airport (SOK):

• The closest airport to Semonkong Airport (SOK) is Lesobeng Airport (LES), which is located only 19 miles (30 kilometers) ENE of SOK.
• In addition to being known as "Semonkong Airport", another name for SOK is "Semonkong".
• The furthest airport from Semonkong Airport (SOK) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,763 miles (18,931 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
• Semonkong Airport (SOK) has 2 runways.

Facts about Birmingham Airport (BHX):

• The airport's location south-east of the city, plus the only operational runway being north-west – south-east, means that depending on wind direction, aircraft land or take-off directly over Birmingham.
• Plans for the extension of the airport runway and the construction of the new air traffic control tower were submitted to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in January 2008 and approved in March 2009.
• Because of Birmingham Airport's relatively low elevation of 341 feet, planes can take off or land at Birmingham 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 Birmingham Airport (BHX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,858 miles (19,084 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Birmingham handled a record 9.6 million passengers in 2008, and 9.1 million passengers used the airport in 2013, making Birmingham the seventh busiest UK airport.
• The runway extension will be officially opened on 22 July 2014 and will be marked by a series of charter flights operated by China Southern Airlines to Beijing.
• Birmingham Airport (BHX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Birmingham Airport handled 9,120,201 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Birmingham Airport (BHX) is Coventry Airport (CVT), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) ESE of BHX.
• It's also been estimated that if these plans were to go ahead, the airport could handle around 70,000,000 passengers annually, and around 500,000 aircraft movements.