Nonstop flight route between Fort Sumner, New Mexico, United States and Tarawa, Kiribati:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fort Sumner Municipal Airport (FSU), Fort Sumner, New Mexico, United States and Bonriki International Airport (TRW), Tarawa, Kiribati would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,745 miles (or 9,246 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 Sumner Municipal Airport and Bonriki 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 Fort Sumner Municipal Airport and Bonriki 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 Fort Sumner Municipal Airport (FSU):

• In the 1980s, the airport was chosen as a launch site for NASA's high altitude balloon program.
• Fort Sumner Municipal Airport is a village owned, public use airport located two nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Fort Sumner, a village in De Baca County, New Mexico, United States.
• The furthest airport from Fort Sumner Municipal Airport (FSU) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,167 miles (17,971 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Fort Sumner Municipal Airport (FSU) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Fort Sumner Municipal Airport (FSU) is Cannon Air Force Base Clovis Air Force Base/AAF (CVS), which is located 51 miles (83 kilometers) E of FSU.
• Current two operational balloon launch campaigns are conducted at the airport each year.
• Because of Fort Sumner Municipal Airport's high elevation of 4,165 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at FSU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make FSU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Fort Sumner Municipal Airport", another name for FSU is "Fort Sumner Army Airfield".

Facts about Bonriki International Airport (TRW):

• Because of Bonriki International Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Bonriki 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.
• Bonriki International Airport (TRW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Bonriki International Airport (TRW) is Cape Palmas Airport (CPA), which is nearly antipodal to Bonriki International Airport (meaning Bonriki International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cape Palmas Airport), and is located 12,035 miles (19,368 kilometers) away in Cape Palmas, Liberia.
• The closest airport to Bonriki International Airport (TRW) is Abaiang Atoll Airport (ABF), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) NNW of TRW.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 9 feet above mean sea level.
• Bonriki International Airport is an international airport in Kiribati, serving as the main gateway to the country.
• Almost immediately after the completion of the runway, it became the nexus of United States Army Air Forces operations from Tarawa, as the runway at nearby Hawkins Field on Betio was too short for safe bomber operations.