Nonstop flight route between Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands and Butterworth, South Africa:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SPN to UTE:
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- About this route
- SPN Airport Information
- UTE Airport Information
- Facts about SPN
- Facts about UTE
- Map of Nearest Airports to SPN
- List of Nearest Airports to SPN
- Map of Furthest Airports from SPN
- List of Furthest Airports from SPN
- Map of Nearest Airports to UTE
- List of Nearest Airports to UTE
- Map of Furthest Airports from UTE
- List of Furthest Airports from UTE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Saipan International Airport (SPN), Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands and RMAF Butterworth (UTE), Butterworth, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,147 miles (or 5,064 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 Saipan International Airport and RMAF Butterworth, 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 Saipan International Airport and RMAF Butterworth. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SPN / PGSN |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands |
GPS Coordinates: | 15°7'8"N by 145°43'45"E |
Operator/Owner: | Commonwealth Ports Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 215 feet (66 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SPN |
More Information: | SPN Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | UTE / FABU |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Butterworth, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 5°27'57"N by 100°23'27"E |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence (Malaysia) |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 8 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from UTE |
More Information: | UTE Maps & Info |
Facts about Saipan International Airport (SPN):
- Japanese tourists began visiting Saipan in large numbers during the 1970s.
- In addition to being known as "Saipan International Airport", other names for SPN include "Francisco C. Ada Airport" and "GSN".
- Saipan International Airport covers an area of 734 acres which contains one paved runway measuring 8,700 x 200 ft.
- Saipan International Airport (SPN) currently has only 1 runway.
- Once in American hands, Isely Field was expanded considerably to support Twentieth Air Force B-29 Superfortress operations.
- Because of Saipan International Airport's relatively low elevation of 215 feet, planes can take off or land at Saipan 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 Saipan International Airport (SPN) is Tinian International Airport (TIQ), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SW of SPN.
- The furthest airport from Saipan International Airport (SPN) is Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho) (SSA), which is nearly antipodal to Saipan International Airport (meaning Saipan International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho)), and is located 12,125 miles (19,514 kilometers) away in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
- Saipan International Airport, also known as Francisco C.
- SPN was a sugarcane field before the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service constructed a temporary landing field on the site in 1933.
- After several months of disappointing high level bombing attacks from Isely, General Curtis LeMay, Commander of Twentieth Air Force issued a new directive that the high-altitude, daylight attacks be phased out and replaced by low-altitude, high-intensity incendiary raids at nighttime, being followed up with high explosive bombs once the targets were set ablaze.
- Saipan International Airport commenced operation on 25 July 1976 taking over from the nearby Kobler Field.Continental Micronesia initially had its main hub at Kobler Field and then Saipan Airport.
Facts about RMAF Butterworth (UTE):
- The furthest airport from RMAF Butterworth (UTE) is Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport (PIU), which is nearly antipodal to RMAF Butterworth (meaning RMAF Butterworth is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport), and is located 12,365 miles (19,900 kilometers) away in Piura, Peru.
- As of October 2008, the Australian Defence Force continues to maintain a presence at RMAF Butterworth as part of Australia's commitment to the Five Power Defence Arrangements, with No.
- Another notable unit was the No.
- RMAF Butterworth (UTE) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of RMAF Butterworth's relatively low elevation of 8 feet, planes can take off or land at RMAF Butterworth 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.
- In addition to being known as "RMAF Butterworth", other names for UTE include "TUDM Butterworth", "BWH" and "WMKB".
- RMAF Butterworth is an Air Force Station of the Royal Malaysian Air Force situated 4.5 nautical miles from Butterworth in the state of Penang, directly opposite the island itself.
- The closest airport to RMAF Butterworth (UTE) is RMAF Butterworth (BWH), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of UTE.