Nonstop flight route between Waterford, Ireland and Upington, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Waterford Airport (WAT), Waterford, Ireland and Upington Airport (UTN), Upington, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,826 miles (or 9,377 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 Waterford Airport and Upington 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 Waterford Airport and Upington 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 Waterford Airport (WAT):

• The airport opened in 1981 with a 1,200 by 29 m runway for single and twin-engine light aircraft and a portable cabin as terminal building.
• The closest airport to Waterford Airport (WAT) is Kilkenny Airport (KKY), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) NNW of WAT.
• Airport development was initiated by Waterford Corporation with support from the Government of Ireland and the private sector in 1979–1980.
• The furthest airport from Waterford Airport (WAT) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is nearly antipodal to Waterford Airport (meaning Waterford Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome), and is located 12,013 miles (19,333 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Because of Waterford Airport's relatively low elevation of 119 feet, planes can take off or land at Waterford 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.
• Waterford Airport handled 8,000 passengers last year.
• On 14 May 2007 Aer Arann announced that they would open up a base in Waterford Airport and they also announced services to Birmingham.
• In addition to being known as "Waterford Airport", another name for WAT is "Aerfort Phort Láirge".
• On 12 August 2013 it was reported that a 150m extension of the runway would be funded by the Department of Transport of up to €400,000.

Facts about Upington Airport (UTN):

• Many major car manufacturers bring their cars and commercial vehicles to Upington to test them in the hot dry and sunny conditions.
• 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.
• 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'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.
• The closest airport to Upington Airport (UTN) is Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH), which is located 147 miles (236 kilometers) ENE of UTN.
• 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.