Nonstop flight route between Buka Island, Papua New Guinea and Kitee, Finland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea and Kitee Airfield (KTQ), Kitee, Finland would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,623 miles (or 12,269 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 Buka Island Airport and Kitee Airfield, 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 Buka Island Airport and Kitee Airfield. 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 Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• It is located at the southern end of the island, near Buka Passage behind the town of Buka, and pre-war Chinatown.
• The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 26 July, an Imperial Japanese Navy special detachment was sent to inspect Buka Airfield, but considered it unacceptable as a prospect for a speedily constructed major airfield.

Facts about Kitee Airfield (KTQ):

• Kitee Airfield (KTQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Kitee Airfield (KTQ) is Joensuu Airport (JOE), which is located 37 miles (59 kilometers) NNW of KTQ.
• The furthest airport from Kitee Airfield (KTQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,779 miles (17,348 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Kitee Airfield", another name for KTQ is "Kiteen lentokenttä".
• Because of Kitee Airfield's relatively low elevation of 364 feet, planes can take off or land at Kitee Airfield 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.