Nonstop flight route between Valaparaiso (near Fort Walton Beach), Florida, United States and Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS), Valaparaiso (near Fort Walton Beach), Florida, United States and O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,513 miles (or 13,700 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 Northwest Florida Regional Airport and O. R. Tambo 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 Northwest Florida Regional Airport and O. R. Tambo 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 Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS):

• The furthest airport from Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,174 miles (17,983 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Northwest Florida Regional Airport", another name for VPS is "Eglin Air Force Base".
• Because of Northwest Florida Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 87 feet, planes can take off or land at Northwest Florida 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.
• The closest airport to Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS) is Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport (DSI), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) SSE of VPS.

Facts about O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB):

• O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) has 2 runways.
• O. R. Tambo International Airport handled 18,794,897 passengers last year.
• During busy periods, outbound flights use the western runway for take-off, while inbound flights use the eastern runway for landing.
• In November 2009 Air France announced the scheduled flights of their Airbus A380 into Johannesburg's O.R.
• The furthest airport from O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,979 miles (19,279 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• In addition to being known as "O. R. Tambo International Airport", another name for JNB is "Johannesburg International Airport".
• Airports Company South Africa reported that major new developments took place at the airport, in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
• The closest airport to O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) is Rand Airport (QRA), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SW of JNB.
• Critics noted the considerable expense involved in renaming the airport, and the decision to use a politician as the name would be obscure, confusing and in some instances, offensive.
• Because of O. R. Tambo International Airport's high elevation of 5,558 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at JNB. Combined with a high temperature, this could make JNB a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.