Nonstop flight route between Buka Island, Papua New Guinea and Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea and Shearwater Heliport (YAW), Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,882 miles (or 14,295 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 Shearwater Heliport, 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 Shearwater Heliport. 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.
• Buka Airport is an airport serving Buka Island in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea.
• 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.
• In January 1944, the Allies drove the Japanese out of Buka, and the airfield was used for operations against the Japanese over New Guinea.
• 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.
• There is one navigational aid, the Buka NDB situated on nearby Sohano Island.

Facts about Shearwater Heliport (YAW):

• Shearwater is the second-oldest military aerodrome in Canada.
• Beginning in the 1970s, CFB Shearwater began hosting an Armed Forces Day every fall, typically on the weekend following Labour Day, and included an air show where the long and wide runways at Shearwater hosted some of the largest aircraft in the world, including the U.S.
• In addition to being known as "Shearwater Heliport", other names for YAW include "Halifax/Shearwater Heliport", "12 Wing Shearwater" and "CFB Shearwater".
• These changes allowed for heliport operations including instrument approaches and were accompanied with the construction of other non-airfield facilities in support of the Maritime Helicopter Project.
• Organizers of the "Nova Scotia International Air Show" continued to make use the Shearwater airfield for both ground displays and the air show component until 2002.
• As part of the heliport conversion project, the old runway 16/34 was permanently closed and placed outside of a new fence for the Shearwater Heliport, as shown in the Canada Flight Supplement effective 31 July 2008.
• The closest airport to Shearwater Heliport (YAW) is Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) N of YAW.
• The furthest airport from Shearwater Heliport (YAW) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 11,763 miles (18,931 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Shearwater Heliport's relatively low elevation of 144 feet, planes can take off or land at Shearwater Heliport 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.