Nonstop flight route between Van Nuys, California, United States and Mmabatho, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Van Nuys Airport (VNY), Van Nuys, California, United States and Mafikeng Airport (MBD), Mmabatho, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,221 miles (or 16,448 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 Van Nuys Airport and Mafikeng 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 Van Nuys Airport and Mafikeng 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 Van Nuys Airport (VNY):

• Legend has it that Burbank Airport provided the setting for Humphrey Bogart's famous goodbye in the film Casablanca.
• The closest airport to Van Nuys Airport (VNY) is Whiteman Airport (WHP), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NE of VNY.
• Van Nuys Airport is the busiest general aviation airport in the world, and the 25th busiest airport in the world.
• Because of Van Nuys Airport's relatively low elevation of 802 feet, planes can take off or land at Van Nuys 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 2005 a film documenting the history of Van Nuys Airport was released under the name One Six Right, named after the more popular runway at the airport.
• Van Nuys Airport (VNY) has 2 runways.
• The airport is home to the Van Nuys FlyAway Bus service, which runs non-stop buses to Los Angeles International Airport for travelers that park their cars at Van Nuys.
• Most news helicopters from the Los Angeles area are based at Van Nuys Airport.
• A major part of the science fiction classic Silent Running was filmed at the Van Nuys Airport in March 1971.
• The furthest airport from Van Nuys Airport (VNY) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,472 miles (18,463 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.

Facts about Mafikeng Airport (MBD):

• The furthest airport from Mafikeng Airport (MBD) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is nearly antipodal to Mafikeng Airport (meaning Mafikeng Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kalaupapa Airport), and is located 12,081 miles (19,443 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
• Because of Mafikeng Airport's high elevation of 4,181 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MBD. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MBD a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Mafikeng Airport (MBD) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Mafikeng Airport", another name for MBD is "Mmabatho Airport".
• The closest airport to Mafikeng Airport (MBD) is Lobatse Airport (LOQ), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) NNE of MBD.