Nonstop flight route between Upington, South Africa and El Centro, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Upington Airport (UTN), Upington, South Africa and Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK), El Centro, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,875 miles (or 15,892 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 Naval Air Facility El Centro, 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 Naval Air Facility El Centro. 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 (UTN) has 3 runways.
• As well as improvements to the airport itself, ACSA will be preparing land around the airport for development to support the inevitable boost to the local economy.
• 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.
• With the fall of the Portuguese regime in Angola, South African Airways lost its landing rights in Luanda.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Upington Airport (UTN) is Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH), which is located 147 miles (236 kilometers) ENE of UTN.

Facts about Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK):

• The furthest airport from Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,532 miles (18,558 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The facility was commissioned on May 1, 1946, as a Naval Air Station.
• The closest airport to Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK) is Imperial County Airport (IPL), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) E of NJK.
• Apart from "touch and go" landings and take-offs, aircrews use the many ranges at NAF El Centro to develop their skills.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Facility El Centro", another name for NJK is "KNJK - FAA: NJK".
• Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK) has 2 runways.