Nonstop flight route between Buka Island, Papua New Guinea and Rotterdam, Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea and Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM), Rotterdam, Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,801 miles (or 14,163 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 Rotterdam The Hague 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 Buka Island Airport and Rotterdam The Hague 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 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.
• On 13 May 1943 Allied reconnaissance observed 36 fighters and 6 bombers at the airstrip.
• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• There is one navigational aid, the Buka NDB situated on nearby Sohano Island.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• 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.

Facts about Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM):

• The closest airport to Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM) is Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID), which is located only 15 miles (23 kilometers) N of RTM.
• Because of Rotterdam The Hague Airport's relatively low elevation of -14 feet, planes can take off or land at Rotterdam The Hague 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.
• Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM) currently has only 1 runway.
• Rotterdam The Hague Airport handled 159,014 passengers last year.
• The route with the longest continual service, to London Heathrow and operated by KLM Cityhopper, was suspended in 2008.
• The furthest airport from Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,872 miles (19,107 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Construction of the airport began in August 1955 and the airport was officially opened in October 1956.