Nonstop flight route between Knoxville, Tennessee, United States and Upington, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS), Knoxville, Tennessee, United States and Upington Airport (UTN), Upington, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,137 miles (or 13,096 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 McGhee Tyson 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 McGhee Tyson 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 McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS):

• Because of McGhee Tyson Airport's relatively low elevation of 981 feet, planes can take off or land at McGhee Tyson 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 McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) is Gatlinburg–Pigeon Forge Airport (GKT), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) E of TYS.
• McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) has 2 runways.
• McGhee Tyson Airport handled 1,688,882 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "McGhee Tyson Airport", another name for TYS is "McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base".
• The 134 ARW, which is operationally gained by the Air Mobility Command, operates KC-135R Stratotankers for both air mobility and aerial refueling of military aircraft.
• In 1990 runway 5R and 23L was reconstructed to its current a length of 9,000 feet.
• The airport is the home of McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, an air base for the 134th Air Refueling Wing of the Tennessee Air National Guard.
• McGhee Tyson Airport has two levels.
• McGhee Tyson Airport covers 2,250 acres at an elevation of 981 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,348 miles (18,263 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Upington Airport (UTN):

• Private charter flights are provided by Walker Flying Services who operates Cessna 210 and Cessna 402 aircraft.
• With the fall of the Portuguese regime in Angola, South African Airways lost its landing rights in Luanda.
• 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.
• Upington Airport (UTN) has 3 runways.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Upington Airport (UTN) is Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH), which is located 147 miles (236 kilometers) ENE of UTN.