Nonstop flight route between Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom and Upington, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Swansea Airport (SWS), Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom and Upington Airport (UTN), Upington, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,738 miles (or 9,235 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 Swansea Airport and Upington 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 Swansea Airport and Upington 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 Swansea Airport (SWS):

• The 1990s saw the arrival of Heli-air Wales to the airport, and so began the era of Helicopter Training in South Wales.
• The airport was, for a short time, the headquarters of Air Wales before they ceased all operations from the airport to focus on more popular routes from Cardiff International Airport, although before their demise, the headquarters remained in Swansea, instead at a city-centre location.
• The fire brigade at Swansea is CAT 1, and able to do CAT 2 on request.
• Because of Swansea Airport's relatively low elevation of 299 feet, planes can take off or land at Swansea 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 Swansea Airport (SWS) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,966 miles (19,257 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The Welsh Assembly Government is currently conducting studies into improving the facilities at the airport as part of the transport infrastructure development strategy for the whole of Wales.
• Swansea Airport (SWS) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Swansea Airport (SWS) is MoD St Athan (DGX), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) ESE of SWS.

Facts about Upington Airport (UTN):

• The Concorde did flight testing at Upington Airport in June 1976.
• Upington Airport's runway was built to accommodate a Boeing 747 with a full load of passengers, cargo and fuel, so that it could take off for Europe without having to stop along the way.
• Upington Airport's uncommonly long runway and its strategically advantageous location, close to South Africa's northern borders, makes it ideally placed to serve the African continent.
• The closest airport to Upington Airport (UTN) is Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH), which is located 147 miles (236 kilometers) ENE of UTN.
• Upington Airport is an airport located in Upington, Northern Cape, South Africa.
• The furthest airport from Upington Airport (UTN) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is nearly antipodal to Upington Airport (meaning Upington Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Princeville Airport), and is located 12,007 miles (19,323 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
• From August 1976 to December 1996, South African Airways made use of Upington as a refuelling station for two weekly scheduled Boeing 747 flights to London and Zurich.
• Upington Airport (UTN) has 3 runways.
• As well as improvements to the airport itself, ACSA will be preparing land around the airport for development to support the inevitable boost to the local economy.