Nonstop flight route between Lompoc, California, United States and Cape Town, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States and Cape Town International Airport (CPT), Cape Town, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,123 miles (or 16,292 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 Vandenberg Air Force Base and Cape Town 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 Vandenberg Air Force Base and Cape Town 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 Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG):

• 1st Air and Space Test Squadron
• With the establishment of a separate Air Force in September 1947, Vandenberg became its first vice chief of staff under General Carl Spaatz, and succeeded him on 30 April 1948.
• In September 2000, veterans of the 40th Infantry Division gathered an Vandenberg Air Force Base to dedicate its Korean War Memorial.
• The closest airport to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) is Lompoc Airport (LPC), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SE of VBG.
• In 1941 the United States Army sought more and better training centers for the rapid development of its armored and infantry forces.
• The furthest airport from Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,479 miles (18,473 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• In addition to being known as "Vandenberg Air Force Base", another name for VBG is "Vandenberg AFB".
• Vandenberg AFB is a Department of Defense space and missile testing base, with a mission of placing satellites into polar orbit from the West Coast, using expendable boosters.

Facts about Cape Town International Airport (CPT):

• In preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Cape Town International Airport was extensively expanded and renovated.
• Cape Town International Airport (CPT) has 2 runways.
• Cape Town International Airport handled 8,505,563 passengers last year.
• Because of Cape Town International Airport's relatively low elevation of 151 feet, planes can take off or land at Cape Town 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.
• With the fall of apartheid in the early 1990s, ownership of the airport was transferred from the state to the newly formed Airports Company South Africa, and the airport was renamed to the politically neutral Cape Town International Airport.
• The MyCiTi bus rapid transit system provides a shuttle service connecting the airport with the Civic Centre bus station in the city centre.
• The furthest airport from Cape Town International Airport (CPT) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is located 11,616 miles (18,693 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
• The closest airport to Cape Town International Airport (CPT) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 217 miles (349 kilometers) E of CPT.
• Cape Town International Airport was opened in 1954, a year after Jan Smuts Airport on the Witwatersrand opened.