Nonstop flight route between Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and Kailua / Kona, Hawaii, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ), Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA), Kailua / Kona, Hawaii, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,133 miles (or 19,526 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 Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport and Kona International Airport at Keāhole, 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 Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport and Kona International Airport at Keāhole. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between BUQ and KOA makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport and Kona International Airport at Keāhole would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between BUQ and KOA are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and Kailua / Kona, Hawaii, United States by taking some connecting flights!

Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between BUQ and KOA!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ):

• The closest airport to Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ) is Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE), which is located 90 miles (145 kilometers) ENE of BUQ.
• The furthest airport from Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (meaning Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,198 miles (19,630 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ) has 2 runways.
• Because of Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport's high elevation of 4,359 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BUQ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BUQ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.

Facts about Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA):

• The closest airport to Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA) is Pōhakuloa Training Area (BSF), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) ENE of KOA.
• Kona International Airport at Keāhole handled 2,649,493 passengers last year.
• Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA) is Maun Airport (MUB), which is nearly antipodal to Kona International Airport at Keāhole (meaning Kona International Airport at Keāhole is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maun Airport), and is located 12,399 miles (19,954 kilometers) away in Maun, Botswana.
• In addition to being known as "Kona International Airport at Keāhole", another name for KOA is "Kona International Airport".
• Because of Kona International Airport at Keāhole's relatively low elevation of 47 feet, planes can take off or land at Kona International Airport at Keāhole 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.
• Japan Airlines' Kona-Tokyo flight that started in 1996 ended in 2010, so Hawaii Island's only scheduled international flight is to Vancouver.Hawaiian Airlines filed an application with the US Department of Transportation for nonstop flights from Kona to Tokyo's Haneda Airport restoring the link between the two cities after Japan Airlines ended flights to Narita Airport in 2010.
• The full extent of the airport's impact and shift in tourism can be seen in Hawaii Island Strategic Plan for 2006 to 2015.