Nonstop flight route between Apia, Upolu Island, Samoa and Sofia, Bulgaria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Faleolo International Airport (APW), Apia, Upolu Island, Samoa and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF), Sofia, Bulgaria would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,241 miles (or 16,481 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 Faleolo International Airport and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna, 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 Faleolo International Airport and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna. 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 Faleolo International Airport (APW):

• The furthest airport from Faleolo International Airport (APW) is Maradi Airport (MFQ), which is nearly antipodal to Faleolo International Airport (meaning Faleolo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maradi Airport), and is located 12,373 miles (19,913 kilometers) away in Maradi, Niger.
• Because of Faleolo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 58 feet, planes can take off or land at Faleolo 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 1984, Faleolo could not accommodate jets larger than a Boeing 737.
• The closest airport to Faleolo International Airport (APW) is Maota (Salelologa) Airport (MXS), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) WNW of APW.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 58 feet above mean sea level.
• Faleolo International Airport (APW) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF):

• Total cost of the project was planned at 200 million euros.
• Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna handled 350,432 passengers last year.
• Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 19 August 2011 in the presence of Ivaylo Moskovski, minister of transport, information technology and communications, the BULATSA director general Diyan Dinev, Glavbolgarstroy AD chief executive director Pavel Kalistratov and Glavbolgarstroy AD executive director and management board member Nina Stoyanova signed the design execution and construction contract between BULATSA and Glavbolgarstroy AD for the new control tower at Sofia Airport.
• The closest airport to Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Plovdiv Airport (PDV), which is located 86 miles (138 kilometers) ESE of SOF.
• Options for different airport developments began to be examined in the mid-1960s.
• The furthest airport from Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,437 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna", other names for SOF include "Vrazhdebna Airport" and "Летище София".
• The new Sofia tower will be situated to the west of Terminal 2 and will be complementing the terminal building in architectural terms.
• The airport was initially built in the late 1930s on a site 6.3 km by road then.
• The new tower is an extremely important facility for both ATC and the airport because it is related to the safety and security of flights, explained by the transport department.
• Lufthansa Technik Sofia was founded in late 2007 as a joint venture between Lufthansa Technik and the Bulgarian Aviation Group.
• Contract for detailed design and construction of a new control tower of the airport and forming an ATM Glavbolgarstroy.