Nonstop flight route between Upington, South Africa and Recife, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Upington Airport (UTN), Upington, South Africa and Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport (REC), Recife, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,904 miles (or 6,283 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 Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International 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 Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International 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 (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.
• Upington Airport was opened in 1968 as Pierre van Ryneveld Airport.
• Upington Airport is an airport located in Upington, Northern Cape, South Africa.
• The Concorde did flight testing at Upington Airport in June 1976.
• 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.
• 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.
• Planning is also under way at Upington Airport to construct a facility for the long-term parking of mothballed aircraft.
• The closest airport to Upington Airport (UTN) is Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH), which is located 147 miles (236 kilometers) ENE of UTN.

Facts about Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport (REC):

• Because of Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International 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.
• Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport (REC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport (REC) is Guam International Airport (GUM), which is nearly antipodal to Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport (meaning Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Guam International Airport), and is located 12,066 miles (19,419 kilometers) away in Hagåtña, Guam.
• In addition to being known as "Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport", another name for REC is "Aeroporto Internacional do Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre".
• In 2012 the airport was ranked 9th in terms of cargo handled in Brazil, placing it amongst the busiest airports in the country.
• In 2004 a brand-new passenger terminal was built, including a new shopping mall, thus generating more traffic and revenue.
• Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport handled 6,840,276 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport (REC) is Presidente Castro Pinto International Airport (JPA), which is located 68 miles (109 kilometers) N of REC.