Nonstop flight route between Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga and Houston, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from TBU to HOU:
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- About this route
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- List of Furthest Airports from TBU
- Map of Nearest Airports to HOU
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- List of Furthest Airports from HOU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU), Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), Houston, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,364 miles (or 10,242 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 William P. Hobby 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 William P. Hobby 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: | HOU / KHOU |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Houston, Texas, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 29°38'44"N by 95°16'44"W |
Area Served: | Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land |
Operator/Owner: | City of Houston |
Elevation: | 46 feet (14 meters) |
# of Runways: | 4 |
View all routes: | Routes from HOU |
More Information: | HOU Maps & Info |
Facts about Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU):
- The closest airport to Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU) is Lifuka Island Airport (HPA), which is located 114 miles (183 kilometers) NNE of TBU.
- 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.
- Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU) has 2 runways.
- Peau Vavaʻu operate a Convair 580 subleased from Reef Air leased from New Zealand's Air Chathams to Haʻapai and Vavaʻu, and a Twin Otter to Niuafoʻou and Niuatoputapu.
- It is the strength of the runway rather than the length that restricts operations from Fuaʻamotu.
- Fuaʻamotu was originally built in 1942 by a civilian contractor for the US Army.
- 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.
- Until August 2006, Peau Vavaʻu used a DC-3 on their domestic routes, but this has recently been replaced with a Jetstream 41.
Facts about William P. Hobby Airport (HOU):
- Houston is a focus city for Southwest Airlines, and was the seventh-largest city in Southwest's network as of 2013.
- William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) has 4 runways.
- The Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center serves as the airport's ARTCC.
- Courtesy vans are operated by various hotels and motels in and around the Houston area.
- In addition to being known as "William P. Hobby Airport", another name for HOU is "Houston Hobby".
- Because of William P. Hobby Airport's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at William P. Hobby 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.
- Houston Mayor Annise Parker backed Southwest's flight to make Hobby an international airport on May 23, 2012.
- William P. Hobby Airport handled 9,054,001 passengers last year.
- In a survey among travelers in the United States by J.D.
- On April 9, 2012, Houston Director of Aviation Mario Diaz announced support of international flights from Hobby after multiple studies of the economic impact on the entire city of Houston.
- The furthest airport from William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,002 miles (17,706 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
- The closest airport to William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) is Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) ESE of HOU.
- TranStar Airlines corporate headquarters were at the airport.
- In May 2011 Southwest Airlines expressed interest in international flights from Hobby.