Nonstop flight route between Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM), Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,614 miles (or 12,253 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 Fort Smith Regional Airport and Buka 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 Fort Smith Regional Airport and Buka 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 Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM):

• The furthest airport from Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,765 miles (17,324 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM) has 2 runways.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 85,095 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 76,401 enplanements in 2009, 83,902 in 2010, and 84,126 in 2011.
• Air Traffic services are provided by the Federal Aviation Administration from an Air Traffic Control Tower and TRACON.
• Fort Smith Regional Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles southeast of the central business district of Fort Smith, in Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States.
• The closest airport to Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM) is Robert S. Kerr Airport (RKR), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SSW of FSM.
• Because of Fort Smith Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 469 feet, planes can take off or land at Fort Smith Regional 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.

Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• The furthest airport from Buka Island Airport (BUA) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,781 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
• The origins of the airfield begin in 1941 when Australian troops built gun pits around a primitive airstrip in December 1941.
• Because of Buka Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Buka 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.
• Today the airport is the primary air portal into Bougainville, and even 60 years after the war, wreckage from the military use of the airfield by the Japanese and Americans is easily found in the area.