Nonstop flight route between Upington, South Africa and Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Upington Airport (UTN), Upington, South Africa and University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI), Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,435 miles (or 13,575 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 Upington Airport and University of Illinois Willard 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 Upington Airport and University of Illinois Willard 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 Upington Airport (UTN):

• The Concorde did flight testing at Upington Airport in June 1976.
• Many major car manufacturers bring their cars and commercial vehicles to Upington to test them in the hot dry and sunny conditions.
• Upington Airport (UTN) has 3 runways.
• 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 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.
• 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.

Facts about University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI):

• University of Illinois Willard Airport is south of Savoy in Tolono Township, Champaign County, Illinois.
• University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI) has 4 runways.
• The furthest airport from University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,084 miles (17,838 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• On January 28, 1998 President Bill Clinton was in Champaign-Urbana for a speaking engagement at Assembly Hall and arrived at Willard Airport on Air Force One.
• Delta Air Lines dropped Willard Airport on August 31, 2010.Vision Airlines also ceased service to Willard Airport on January 6, 2012 after 3 weeks of service.
• Because of University of Illinois Willard Airport's relatively low elevation of 754 feet, planes can take off or land at University of Illinois Willard 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 University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI) is Decatur Airport (DEC), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) WSW of CMI.