Nonstop flight route between Canton Island, Kiribati and Kitwe, Zambia:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from CIS to KIW:
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- About this route
- CIS Airport Information
- KIW Airport Information
- Facts about CIS
- Facts about KIW
- Map of Nearest Airports to CIS
- List of Nearest Airports to CIS
- Map of Furthest Airports from CIS
- List of Furthest Airports from CIS
- Map of Nearest Airports to KIW
- List of Nearest Airports to KIW
- Map of Furthest Airports from KIW
- List of Furthest Airports from KIW
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Canton Island Airport (CIS), Canton Island, Kiribati and Southdowns Airport (KIW), Kitwe, Zambia would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,697 miles (or 17,215 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 Southdowns 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 Canton Island Airport and Southdowns Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | CIS / PCIS |
Airport Name: | Canton Island Airport |
Location: | Canton Island, Kiribati |
GPS Coordinates: | 2°46'9"S by 171°42'19"W |
Elevation: | 9 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CIS |
More Information: | CIS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | KIW / FLSO |
Airport Name: | Southdowns Airport |
Location: | Kitwe, Zambia |
GPS Coordinates: | 12°54'1"S by 28°8'58"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 4145 feet (1,263 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from KIW |
More Information: | KIW Maps & Info |
Facts about Canton Island Airport (CIS):
- Canton Island Airport (CIS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The political status of the island was uncertain at first, with American and British settlers occupying two separate camps on the island.
- The closest airport to Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is located 741 miles (1,193 kilometers) WSW of CIS.
- 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 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.
Facts about Southdowns Airport (KIW):
- The furthest airport from Southdowns Airport (KIW) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,920 miles (19,184 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
- Because of Southdowns Airport's high elevation of 4,145 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KIW. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KIW a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The closest airport to Southdowns Airport (KIW) is Kasompe Airport (CGJ), which is located 28 miles (46 kilometers) NW of KIW.
- Southdowns Airport (KIW) currently has only 1 runway.