Nonstop flight route between Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia and Galena, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Broken Hill Airport (BHQ), Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia and Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL), Galena, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,454 miles (or 11,996 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 Broken Hill Airport and Edward G. Pitka Sr. 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 Broken Hill Airport and Edward G. Pitka Sr. 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 Broken Hill Airport (BHQ):

• Broken Hill Airport was ranked 51st in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2009-2010.
• The closest airport to Broken Hill Airport (BHQ) is Mildura Airport (MQL), which is located 158 miles (254 kilometers) SSE of BHQ.
• The furthest airport from Broken Hill Airport (BHQ) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is located 11,776 miles (18,951 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• Because of Broken Hill Airport's relatively low elevation of 959 feet, planes can take off or land at Broken Hill 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.
• Broken Hill Airport handled 63,098 passengers last year.
• Broken Hill Airport (BHQ) has 2 runways.

Facts about Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL):

• The furthest airport from Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,313 miles (16,598 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
• Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL) has 2 runways.
• Because of Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport's relatively low elevation of 153 feet, planes can take off or land at Edward G. Pitka Sr. 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.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 7,784 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 7,447 enplanements in 2009, and 12,421 in 2010.
• The closest airport to Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL) is Koyukuk Airport (KYU), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) WNW of GAL.
• In addition to being known as "Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport", another name for GAL is "(former Galena Air Force Base)".
• As Galena Air Force Base, it was used by the USAF during the Cold War as an interceptor base for aircraft patrolling the western areas of Alaska.
• The airport also sports a ski-jump takeoff ramp at one end and provisions for arresting gear at the other, a leftover from the Cold War years as Galena Air Force Base, as tactical aircraft required more landing and takeoff space than was available on the runway.