Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,461 miles (or 8,788 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 Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport and Buka Island 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 Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport and Buka Island 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 Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC):

• Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) has 3 runways.
• Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport handled 4,976,557 passengers last year.
• The FAA has forecast total operations for the year 2011 to be 261,375.
• Because of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport's relatively low elevation of 152 feet, planes can take off or land at Ted Stevens Anchorage 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 piece consists of nine towers of glass, collectively adding up to 42 meters of in span and reaching to 8 meters at its highest point.
• The airport was renamed in 2000 by the Alaska Legislature to honor former long-standing U.S.
• Anchorage is also envisioned as a future connecting point for air traffic to the Russian Far East.
• Built in 1951 as Anchorage International Airport, the airport was served in the 1950s by Alaska Airlines, Northwest Orient, Pacific Northern Airlines and Reeve Aleutian Airways, using aircraft ranging from Douglas DC-3s to Boeing 377s, and was also a refueling stop for Canadian Pacific Air Lines service to the Far East.
• The closest airport to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) ENE of ANC.
• The furthest airport from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,548 miles (16,975 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Anchorage was a common stopover for passengers flying to East Asia until the 1980s because Chinese and Soviet airspace were off-limits and because the first generation of jets and widebody airliners did not have the range to fly non-stop across the Pacific Ocean.

Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• The origins of the airfield begin in 1941 when Australian troops built gun pits around a primitive airstrip in December 1941.
• Today the airport is the primary air portal into Bougainville, and even 60 years after the war, wreckage from the military use of the airfield by the Japanese and Americans is easily found in the area.
• Because of Buka Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Buka Island 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.
• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• The furthest airport from Buka Island Airport (BUA) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,781 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.