Nonstop flight route between Buka Island, Papua New Guinea and Seoul, South Korea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea and Gimpo International Airport (SEL), Seoul, South Korea would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,469 miles (or 5,583 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 Gimpo 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 Buka Island Airport and Gimpo International 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):

• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The origins of the airfield begin in 1941 when Australian troops built gun pits around a primitive airstrip in December 1941.
• 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 Gimpo International Airport (SEL):

• On 21 September 1953 North Korean pilot No Kum-Sok defected in his MiG-15 landing at Kimpo.
• In addition to being known as "Gimpo International Airport", other names for SEL include "김포국제공항 金浦國際空港", "Gimpo Gukje Gonghang Kimp'o Kukche Konghang", "GMP" and "RKSS".
• The furthest airport from Gimpo International Airport (SEL) is Villa Gesell Airport (VLG), which is nearly antipodal to Gimpo International Airport (meaning Gimpo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Villa Gesell Airport), and is located 12,226 miles (19,676 kilometers) away in Villa Gesell, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• For many years, the airport was served by the Gimpo Line, a railway line that no longer exists.
• Gimpo International Airport handled 19,424,032 passengers last year.
• The airport is located south of the Han River in western Seoul.
• Because of Gimpo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 58 feet, planes can take off or land at Gimpo 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.
• Kimpo was captured by the KPA shortly after the capture of Seoul on 28 June 1950.
• Gimpo International Airport (SEL) has 2 runways.
• Following the Inchon landings on 15 September 1950, the 2nd Battalion 5th Marines was ordered to seize Kimpo on 17 September.
• The closest airport to Gimpo International Airport (SEL) is Gimpo International Airport (GMP), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of SEL.