Nonstop flight route between Alexandria, Louisiana, United States and Canton Island, Kiribati:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Esler Field (ESF), Alexandria, Louisiana, United States and Canton Island Airport (CIS), Canton Island, Kiribati would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,696 miles (or 9,167 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 Esler Field and Canton Island 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 Esler Field and Canton Island 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 Esler Field (ESF):

• About 60 percent of the airport's operations are military and the rest are civilian.
• In addition to being known as "Esler Field", another name for ESF is "Esler Regional AirportEsler Army Airfield".
• Esler Field (ESF) has 2 runways.
• This airport is included in the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation airport.
• Because of Esler Field's relatively low elevation of 112 feet, planes can take off or land at Esler Field 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 Esler Field (ESF) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,988 miles (17,683 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• In the 1970s, the airport had scheduled passenger airline service provided by several air carriers including Delta Air Lines which operated mainline jet aircraft from Esler.
• The first unit assigned for training at Esler was the 12th Bombardment Group, arriving for B-25 Mitchell training on 21 February 1942.
• The closest airport to Esler Field (ESF) is Alexandria International Airport (AEX), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) WSW of ESF.
• Construction of the airport, originally called Camp Beauregard Army Field, for the United States Army Air Corps began in 1940.

Facts about Canton Island Airport (CIS):

• 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.
• The closest airport to Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is located 741 miles (1,193 kilometers) WSW of CIS.
• Canton Island Airport (CIS) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Canton Island Airport is an airport located on Kanton Island, in the Phoenix Islands, in the Republic of Kiribati.
• 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.
• 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.