Nonstop flight route between Upington, South Africa and Columbia, Missouri, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Upington Airport (UTN), Upington, South Africa and Columbia Regional Airport (COU), Columbia, Missouri, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,625 miles (or 13,881 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 Columbia Regional 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 Columbia Regional 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• Many major car manufacturers bring their cars and commercial vehicles to Upington to test them in the hot dry and sunny conditions.
• The closest airport to Upington Airport (UTN) is Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH), which is located 147 miles (236 kilometers) ENE of UTN.
• Upington Airport serves as an international cargo hub.
• 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.

Facts about Columbia Regional Airport (COU):

• The furthest airport from Columbia Regional Airport (COU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,886 miles (17,519 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Columbia Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 889 feet, planes can take off or land at Columbia Regional 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.
• In August 2012, Frontier Airlines announced plans to have twice weekly flights from Columbia to Orlando.
• Columbia Regional Airport (COU) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Columbia Regional Airport (COU) is Jefferson City Memorial Airport (JEF), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) SSE of COU.
• The 2013 Federal sequester will result in the closure of the airport's contract control tower and will require pilots to rely on air traffic controllers from other area airports.
• On October 22, 2012, it was announced by Columbia mayor Bob McDavid that American Airlines and the City of Columbia reached an agreement that was approved by the Columbia City Council for air service from Columbia Regional Airport to Chicago O'Hare and Dallas/Fort Worth beginning in February 2013.