Nonstop flight route between Mmabatho, South Africa and Ronaldsway, Isle of Man, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mafikeng Airport (MBD), Mmabatho, South Africa and Isle of Man Airport (IOM), Ronaldsway, Isle of Man, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,806 miles (or 9,344 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 Mafikeng Airport and Isle of Man 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 Mafikeng Airport and Isle of Man 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 Mafikeng Airport (MBD):

• Mafikeng Airport (MBD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Mafikeng Airport (MBD) is Lobatse Airport (LOQ), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) NNE of 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.
• In addition to being known as "Mafikeng Airport", another name for MBD is "Mmabatho Airport".
• 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.

Facts about Isle of Man Airport (IOM):

• Ronaldsway was first used as an airfield in 1928 with passenger services to the UK starting in 1933, operated by Blackpool and West Coast Air Services.
• Isle of Man Airport handled 739,683 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Isle of Man Airport", another name for IOM is "Purt Aer Vannin".
• Bus services are provided by Bus Vannin, formerly Isle of Man Transport.
• In 2013, 739,683 passengers travelled through the airport, a 6.1% increase compared with 2012.
• Isle of Man Airport (IOM) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Isle of Man Airport (IOM) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,847 miles (19,066 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Isle of Man Airport (IOM) is Barrow/Walney Island Airport (BWF), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) E of IOM.
• Because of Isle of Man Airport's relatively low elevation of 52 feet, planes can take off or land at Isle of Man 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.
• RAF operations continued until 1943 when the airfield was handed over to the Admiralty for further development as a Fleet Air Arm training station.
• In March 2006 funding for a further extension was granted by Tynwald to increase the number of departure gates, with work due for completion in summer 2007.