Nonstop flight route between Lod (near Tel Aviv), Israel and Francistown, Botswana:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ben Gurion Airport (TLV), Lod (near Tel Aviv), Israel and Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW), Francistown, Botswana would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,706 miles (or 5,964 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 Ben Gurion Airport and Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base, 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 Ben Gurion Airport and Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base. 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 Ben Gurion Airport (TLV):

• The closest airport to Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) is Sde Dov Airport (SDV), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) NW of TLV.
• The main runway is the oldest surviving runway in the airport, with the quiet and short runways having been built in the late 1960s and 1970s.
• Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) has 3 runways.
• The Airport City development, an office park, is located east of the main airport property.
• In February 2006, the Israel Airports Authority announced plans to invest 4.3 million NIS in a new VIP wing for private jet passengers and crews, as well as others interested in avoiding the main terminal.
• Because of Ben Gurion Airport's relatively low elevation of 134 feet, planes can take off or land at Ben Gurion 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.
• Terminal 1 had been closed in 2003 and then re-opened in 2007 as the domestic terminal following extensive renovations, and in July 2008, to cater for summer charter and low-cost flights.
• In addition to being known as "Ben Gurion Airport", another name for TLV is "נְמַל הַתְּעוּפָה בֵּן גּוּרְיוֹן".
• The furthest airport from Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,672 miles (18,784 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.

Facts about Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW):

• Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) has 2 runways.
• In 2011 the airport's ownership of the old terminal was transferred to the Botswana Defence Force and became a military airport, with civilian traffic moved to the new Francistown International Airport terminal to the west of the airport lands.
• The furthest airport from Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (meaning Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,246 miles (19,707 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• The estimated cost for all three expansion phases is expected to exceed P500 million, and will all be completed at the same time, around May 2010.
• The closest airport to Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) is Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ), which is located 108 miles (174 kilometers) NE of FRW.
• In addition to being known as "Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base", another name for FRW is "FBFT [1]".
• However, currently the project is expected to miss its May deadline, after the airport in Gaborone also missed its deadline set date for May 10, 2010, with contractors at both sites struggling to finalise each stage of construction in time.