Nonstop flight route between Edinburgh, United Kingdom and Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edinburgh Airport (EDI), Edinburgh, United Kingdom and Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU), Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,002 miles (or 16,096 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 Edinburgh Airport and Fuaʻamotu 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 Edinburgh Airport and Fuaʻamotu 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 Edinburgh Airport (EDI):

• Edinburgh Airport handled 9,775,443 passengers last year.
• Although the original main runway 13/31 served the airport well, its alignment had the disadvantage of suffering from severe crosswinds and the other two minor runways were very short and could not be readily extended, so movements were transferred to a new runway in an addition completely outside the original airfield boundary.
• In 1971 the British Airports Authority took over the airport and immediately started to expand it by constructing a new runway and terminal building.
• A £40m extension to the departure lounge has been built, work commenced in December, 2008.
• Because of Edinburgh Airport's relatively low elevation of 136 feet, planes can take off or land at Edinburgh 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 airport is owned and operated by Global Infrastructure Partners, which also owns and operates Gatwick Airport and London City Airport.
• The furthest airport from Edinburgh Airport (EDI) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,713 miles (18,850 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• The airport is served by Edinburgh Trams, a light rail link from the terminal to Edinburgh city centre.
• The airport lies on the A8 Glasgow-Edinburgh road, and can be easily reached by the M8 and the M9.
• Edinburgh Airport (EDI) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Edinburgh Airport (EDI) is Perth Airport (PSL), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) N of EDI.

Facts about Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU):

• The closest airport to Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU) is Lifuka Island Airport (HPA), which is located 114 miles (183 kilometers) NNE of TBU.
• Because of Fuaʻamotu International Airport's relatively low elevation of 126 feet, planes can take off or land at Fuaʻamotu 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.
• Some short-haul international flights such as to Fiji or American Samoa also operate from Vavaʻu Island's Lupepauʻu Airport from time to time.
• The furthest airport from Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU) is Aguenar – Hadj Bey Akhamok Airport (TMR), which is nearly antipodal to Fuaʻamotu International Airport (meaning Fuaʻamotu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Aguenar – Hadj Bey Akhamok Airport), and is located 12,322 miles (19,830 kilometers) away in Tamanrasset, Algeria.
• It is the strength of the runway rather than the length that restricts operations from Fuaʻamotu.
• Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU) has 2 runways.