Nonstop flight route between Buka Island, Papua New Guinea and Gloppen, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea and Sandane Airport, Anda (SDN), Gloppen, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,220 miles (or 13,229 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 Sandane Airport, Anda, 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 Sandane Airport, Anda. 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):

• On 13 May 1943 Allied reconnaissance observed 36 fighters and 6 bombers at the airstrip.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• It is located at the southern end of the island, near Buka Passage behind the town of Buka, and pre-war Chinatown.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.

Facts about Sandane Airport, Anda (SDN):

• Sandane Airport, Anda handled 36,491 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Sandane Airport, Anda (SDN) is Ørsta–Volda Airport, Hovden (HOV), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) N of SDN.
• The airport was rebuilt in 2010, and now has a single 970-metre runway running roughly east-west, hence numbered 09/27, which straddles the peninsula.
• In 2009, the travel magazine Travel and Leisure claimed Sandane to be one of the 17 scariest runways in the world.
• Because of Sandane Airport, Anda's relatively low elevation of 196 feet, planes can take off or land at Sandane Airport, Anda 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.
• Sandane Airport, Anda (SDN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Sandane Airport, Anda (SDN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,187 miles (18,004 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The only airline at the airport is Widerøe who operates regional Dash 8 aircraft on public service obligation contract with the Norwegian Government.