Nonstop flight route between Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and Port Elizabeth, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vancouver International Airport (YVR), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), Port Elizabeth, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,533 miles (or 16,951 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 Vancouver International Airport and Port Elizabeth 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 Vancouver International Airport and Port Elizabeth 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 Vancouver International Airport (YVR):

• The furthest airport from Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,685 miles (17,196 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Vancouver Airport Authority was one of the first airports in North America to institute a volunteer program in 1989.
• Since 1992, the Vancouver Airport Authority has been working with an independent accessibility consultant to eliminate the physical barriers in the built environment, and is "committed to providing fully accessible terminal facilities for people of all backgrounds and capabilities".
• The present main terminal was completed in 1968, and has since been expanded to include separate domestic and international terminals.
• Vancouver International Airport (YVR) has 3 runways.
• Also recently completed was a five-gate and food and retail expansion in the Domestic Terminal's C-Pier, completed in 2009, and the Canada Line rapid transit link between YVR, Richmond and downtown Vancouver, which opened in August 2009.
• Because of Vancouver International Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Vancouver 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.
• The closest airport to Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is Vancouver Harbour Water Airport (CXH), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) NNE of YVR.
• In 2011 the airport announced that it will enact a program aiming to encourage airlines to start more flights between Vancouver and Asia.
• YVR is one of eight Canadian airports that has United States border preclearance facilities.

Facts about Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ):

• The closest airport to Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 79 miles (127 kilometers) ENE of PLZ.
• During World War II, the airfield was extended to accommodate 42 Air School for the Royal Air Force and 6 Squadron South African Air Force on the southern and eastern sides of the field.
• A number of hotels are present on or near the airport.
• Because of Port Elizabeth International Airport's relatively low elevation of 226 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Elizabeth 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.
• In preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup runway 08/26 was going to be extended from 1,980m to 3,000m with a view to accommodating International flights, although this never happened.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 226 feet above mean sea level.
• 1 February 2008 - King Abdullah II of Jordan's Airbus A340-200 landed at Port Elizabeth as he makes his way down the Garden Route to Cape Town on a Harley-Davidson motorbike.
• Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is located 11,567 miles (18,615 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.