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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS), Knoxville, Tennessee, United States and Mthatha Airport (UTT), Mthatha, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,631 miles (or 13,891 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 Mthatha 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 Mthatha 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):

• In 1951 the United States Air Force built several facilities on the field and a 7,500-foot runway.
• The MKAA, which has been in place since 1978, is a component unit of the City of Knoxville and is governed by a nine-member board of commissioners.
• McGhee Tyson Airport handled 1,688,882 passengers last year.
• In 1927 McGhee Tyson airport opened in honor of Charles McGhee Tyson.
• McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• The closest airport to McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) is Gatlinburg–Pigeon Forge Airport (GKT), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) E of TYS.
• 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.
• The development of TYS helped the City of Alcoa diversify its economy and gain its economic independence from what is today Alcoa Inc., the world's third largest producer of aluminum.
• 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 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 addition to being known as "McGhee Tyson Airport", another name for TYS is "McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base".
• This airport is in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which called it a primary commercial service airport since it has over 10,000 passenger boardings per year.Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 841,237 enplanements in 2011, an increase from 804,917 in 2010.

Facts about Mthatha Airport (UTT):

• The closest airport to Mthatha Airport (UTT) is Margate Airport (MGH), which is located 109 miles (176 kilometers) ENE of UTT.
• Mthatha Airport (UTT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Mthatha Airport (UTT) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,642 miles (18,736 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.