Nonstop flight route between Phalaborwa, South Africa and Sheffield, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW), Phalaborwa, South Africa and Sheffield City Heliport (SZD), Sheffield, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,687 miles (or 9,153 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 Hendrik Van Eck Airport and Sheffield City Heliport, 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 Hendrik Van Eck Airport and Sheffield City Heliport. 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 Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW):

• The closest airport to Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW) is Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) SSW of PHW.
• In addition to being known as "Hendrik Van Eck Airport", another name for PHW is "Phalaborwa Airport".
• Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,944 miles (19,222 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.

Facts about Sheffield City Heliport (SZD):

• Because of Sheffield City Heliport's relatively low elevation of 231 feet, planes can take off or land at Sheffield City Heliport 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.
• Sheffield City Heliport (SZD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Sheffield City Heliport (SZD) is Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield (DSA), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) ENE of SZD.
• Planning permission has been granted to turn the entire site into a business park, however in December 2012, Sheffield City Council received details of a bid to reopen the airport.
• The furthest airport from Sheffield City Heliport (SZD) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,799 miles (18,989 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• In the end the last scheduled airline pulled out in 2002, after the airport had passed into the hands of Peel Airports, who were shortly to be opening Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield airport, approximately 25 miles away.
• Passenger figures ranged from 46,000 in 1998, 75,000 in 1999, 60,000 in 2000, 33,000 in 2001 and 13,000 in the airports final year of operation.
• Before it opened, Sheffield was the largest city in Europe without its own airport although there was a proposal made in 1968 to build an airport on land near Todwick in Rotherham but came to nothing.
• The airport was built as part of a plan by the Sheffield Development Corporation to regenerate a very rundown old industrial area and to reclaim the land, which had previously been mined and was the site of derelict steelworks and waste tips.