Nonstop flight route between Eastleigh (near Southampton), England, United Kingdom and East London, South Africa:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SOU to ELS:
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- About this route
- SOU Airport Information
- ELS Airport Information
- Facts about SOU
- Facts about ELS
- Map of Nearest Airports to SOU
- List of Nearest Airports to SOU
- Map of Furthest Airports from SOU
- List of Furthest Airports from SOU
- 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 Southampton Airport (SOU), Eastleigh (near Southampton), England, United Kingdom and East London Airport (ELS), East London, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,069 miles (or 9,767 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 Southampton 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 Southampton 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: | SOU / EGHI |
Airport Name: | Southampton Airport |
Location: | Eastleigh (near Southampton), England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 50°57'1"N by 1°21'24"W |
Area Served: | Southampton |
Operator/Owner: | Heathrow Airport Holdings |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 44 feet (13 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SOU |
More Information: | SOU 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 Southampton Airport (SOU):
- The closest airport to Southampton Airport (SOU) is Lasham Airfield (QLA), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) NE of SOU.
- During the 1950s a mainstay of business for the airport was the Cross channel car ferry service operated by Silver City Airways using Bristol Freighters and Superfreighters.
- Southampton Airport handled 1,722,758 passengers last year.
- On 5 March 1936 the first test flight of the Supermarine Spitfire took place at the airport, an event commemorated in 2004 by the erection of a near-full size sculpture of K5054, the prototype Spitfire, at the road entrance.
- Southampton Airport (SOU) currently has only 1 runway.
- The airport is owned and operated by Heathrow Airport Holdings, which also owns and operates three other UK airports, and is itself owned by FGP TopCo Limited, an international consortium, which includes Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and GIC Special Investments, that is led by the Spanish Ferrovial Group.
- Because of Southampton Airport's relatively low elevation of 44 feet, planes can take off or land at Southampton 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 Southampton Airport (SOU) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,918 miles (19,179 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
Facts about East London Airport (ELS):
- 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.
- East London's airport is a small but bustling one that plays an important role in the growing economy of the Eastern Cape.
- East London Airport is an airport serving East London, a city in the Eastern Cape province on the southeast coast of South Africa.
- In 1965 the airport was again moved, this time to its present site, 9 km west of the city centre.
- 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.
- East London Airport (ELS) has 2 runways.
- Passenger flights were undertaken by two de Havilland Moth planes on Saturday afternoons and all day on Sundays, weather permitting.
- The closest airport to East London Airport (ELS) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WSW of ELS.