Nonstop flight route between Birmingham, Alabama, United States and Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from BHM to TBU:
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- About this route
- BHM Airport Information
- TBU Airport Information
- Facts about BHM
- Facts about TBU
- Map of Nearest Airports to BHM
- List of Nearest Airports to BHM
- Map of Furthest Airports from BHM
- List of Furthest Airports from BHM
- Map of Nearest Airports to TBU
- List of Nearest Airports to TBU
- Map of Furthest Airports from TBU
- List of Furthest Airports from TBU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM), Birmingham, Alabama, United States and Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU), Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,929 miles (or 11,151 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 Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport and Fuaʻamotu International 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 Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport and Fuaʻamotu International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BHM / KBHM |
Airport Name: | Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport |
Location: | Birmingham, Alabama, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°33'50"N by 86°45'7"W |
Area Served: | Birmingham, Alabama |
Operator/Owner: | City of Birmingham |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 650 feet (198 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from BHM |
More Information: | BHM Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM):
- Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) has 2 runways.
- The interior of the terminal was renovated in the early 1990s and completed in 1993 at a cost of $50.4 million which included new floor surfaces, lighting, wall coverings, renovated public spaces, and public art.
- The airport opened on May 31, 1931 with a two-story, white, Georgian style terminal and a single east-west runway.
- Because of Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport's relatively low elevation of 650 feet, planes can take off or land at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth 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.
- On June 23, 2008 Birmingham city mayor Larry Langford announced his proposal to rename the airport as the Fred L.
- The closest airport to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) is St. Clair County Airport (PLR), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) E of BHM.
- The furthest airport from Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,183 miles (17,998 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
Facts about Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU):
- 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.
- The closest airport to Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU) is Lifuka Island Airport (HPA), which is located 114 miles (183 kilometers) NNE of TBU.
- Until August 2006, Peau Vavaʻu used a DC-3 on their domestic routes, but this has recently been replaced with a Jetstream 41.
- Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU) has 2 runways.
- On April 28, 2006, the Tongan Government ended their controversial one-airline policy that had been in favour of Peau Vavaʻu.
- 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 was originally built in 1942 by a civilian contractor for the US Army.