Nonstop flight route between Canton Island, Kiribati and Bishop, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Canton Island Airport (CIS), Canton Island, Kiribati and Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield (BIH), Bishop, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,395 miles (or 7,072 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 Canton Island Airport and Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield, 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 Canton Island Airport and Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield. 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 Canton Island Airport (CIS):

• The Pan American pioneered central air route, Hawaii to the Philippines and Asia by way of stations at Midway, Wake and Guam passed through the Japanese controlled islands with serious concerns about its safety growing in 1941 even as the Army had reinforced the Philippines with a flight of B-17 bombers by way of Midway, Wake and Port Moresby in September.
• Kanton Island airport continued to see use during the 1950s as a trans-Pacific stopover for DC-4, DC-6B and DC-7C aircraft for Pan American, British Commonwealth Pacific, Qantas and Canadian Pacific Airlines, but with the advent of long-range jet aircraft during the 1960s, their need for the island faded, and the airfield and its associated facilities were ultimately abandoned in 1965.
• Canton Island Airport (CIS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport was used as a military airfield during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces in 1942 and 1943, initially being used by the 40th Ferrying Squadron, Ferrying Command as an airfield for moving combat aircraft to forward combat units.
• Because of Canton Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Canton 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 Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Malabo International Airport (SSG), which is nearly antipodal to Canton Island Airport (meaning Canton Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Malabo International Airport), and is located 12,363 miles (19,896 kilometers) away in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
• Though Kanton Island was never physically invaded by Japanese forces, the airfield was bombarded on 1 November 1943 by the Japanese submarine I-36.
• The closest airport to Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is located 741 miles (1,193 kilometers) WSW of CIS.

Facts about Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield (BIH):

• The closest airport to Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield (BIH) is Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) NW of BIH.
• The USAF subleased from Inyo County runway use rights and a heliport area of 4.76 acres known as the Bishop Test Site from 15 November 1965 to 19 June 1971 and from 25 November 1980 to 30 September 1985.
• Because of Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield's high elevation of 4,124 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BIH. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BIH a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield (BIH) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Eastern Sierra Regional AirportBishop Army Airfield (BIH) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,267 miles (18,133 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The airfield opened in April 1940 on 897.22 acres subleased from Inyo County.