Nonstop flight route between Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga and East London, South Africa:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from TBU to ELS:
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- About this route
- TBU Airport Information
- ELS Airport Information
- Facts about TBU
- Facts about ELS
- Map of Nearest Airports to TBU
- List of Nearest Airports to TBU
- Map of Furthest Airports from TBU
- List of Furthest Airports from TBU
- Map of Nearest Airports to ELS
- List of Nearest Airports to ELS
- Map of Furthest Airports from ELS
- List of Furthest Airports from ELS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU), Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga and East London Airport (ELS), East London, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,392 miles (or 13,506 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 Fuaʻamotu International Airport and East London 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 Fuaʻamotu International Airport and East London Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | TBU / NFTF |
Airport Name: | Fuaʻamotu International Airport |
Location: | Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga |
GPS Coordinates: | 21°14'27"S by 175°8'57"W |
Area Served: | Nukuʻalofa, Tonga |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Civil Aviation |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 126 feet (38 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from TBU |
More Information: | TBU Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | ELS / FAEL |
Airport Name: | East London Airport |
Location: | East London, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°2'5"S by 27°49'17"E |
Area Served: | East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 436 feet (133 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from ELS |
More Information: | ELS Maps & Info |
Facts about Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU):
- Some short-haul international flights such as to Fiji or American Samoa also operate from Vavaʻu Island's Lupepauʻu Airport from time to time.
- The furthest airport from Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU) is Aguenar – Hadj Bey Akhamok Airport (TMR), which is nearly antipodal to Fuaʻamotu International Airport (meaning Fuaʻamotu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Aguenar – Hadj Bey Akhamok Airport), and is located 12,322 miles (19,830 kilometers) away in Tamanrasset, Algeria.
- Until August 2006, Peau Vavaʻu used a DC-3 on their domestic routes, but this has recently been replaced with a Jetstream 41.
- The closest airport to Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU) is Lifuka Island Airport (HPA), which is located 114 miles (183 kilometers) NNE of TBU.
- Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU) has 2 runways.
- Because of Fuaʻamotu International Airport's relatively low elevation of 126 feet, planes can take off or land at Fuaʻamotu 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.
- It is the strength of the runway rather than the length that restricts operations from Fuaʻamotu.
Facts about East London Airport (ELS):
- Passenger flights were undertaken by two de Havilland Moth planes on Saturday afternoons and all day on Sundays, weather permitting.
- The closest airport to East London Airport (ELS) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WSW of ELS.
- East London Airport (ELS) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from East London Airport (ELS) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,569 miles (18,618 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
- The airport was renamed in 1994.
- Because of East London Airport's relatively low elevation of 436 feet, planes can take off or land at East London 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 1965 the airport was again moved, this time to its present site, 9 km west of the city centre.