Nonstop flight route between Houston, Texas, United States and Avarua, Cook Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD), Houston, Texas, United States and Rarotonga International Airport (RAR), Avarua, Cook Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,549 miles (or 8,929 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 Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field and Rarotonga 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 Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field and Rarotonga 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 Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD):

• The closest airport to Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD) is William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of EFD.
• World War II, with its increasing need for trained pilots, helped to reestablish Ellington Field as an active facility.
• For the first months of operation, Ellington Field had no pilot fatalities.
• In addition to being known as "Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field", another name for EFD is "Ellington Field JRB".
• In 1952, Air Training Command expanded the training program at Ellington with the establishment of a multi-engine flying training program as part of Flying Training Air Force.
• The Texas National Guard and 36th Infantry Division bought most of the airfield's buildings, but the field remained unused.
• The furthest airport from Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,008 miles (17,716 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Several years later in 1927, Ellington's status was again threatened as local city leaders began to discuss the construction of a municipal airport.

Facts about Rarotonga International Airport (RAR):

• In 2003, the terminal and departure and check-in areas were revamped at a cost of US$650,000.
• The furthest airport from Rarotonga International Airport (RAR) is Faya-Largeau Airport (FYT), which is nearly antipodal to Rarotonga International Airport (meaning Rarotonga International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Faya-Largeau Airport), and is located 12,199 miles (19,632 kilometers) away in Faya-Largeau, Chad.
• Another outbound view of Rarotonga Airport and the island's mountainous interior
• An Air New Zealand Boeing 767 airliner at Rarotonga International Airport
• The closest airport to Rarotonga International Airport (RAR) is Mangaia Island Airport (MGS), which is located 131 miles (211 kilometers) ESE of RAR.
• Rarotonga International Airport (RAR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport first opened in 1975 on the site of a former U.S.
• Because of Rarotonga International Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at Rarotonga 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.