Nonstop flight route between Funafuti, Tuvalu and Detroit, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Funafuti International Airport (FUN), Funafuti, Tuvalu and Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP), Detroit, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,985 miles (or 11,241 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 Funafuti International Airport and Willow Run Airport (YIP), 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 Funafuti International Airport and Willow Run Airport (YIP). 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 Funafuti International Airport (FUN):

• Because of Funafuti International Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Funafuti 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.
• The deterioration of the runway's sub-base is a consequence of its low elevation and the hydrologic dynamics in the sub-surface of the atoll.
• By the middle of 1944, as the fighting moved further north toward Japan, the Americans began to withdraw.
• The furthest airport from Funafuti International Airport (FUN) is Tamale Airport (TML), which is nearly antipodal to Funafuti International Airport (meaning Funafuti International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tamale Airport), and is located 12,365 miles (19,900 kilometers) away in Tamale, Northern Region, Ghana.
• Funafuti Airport was built by United States Navy Seabee construction battalions in 1943 during World War II.
• Funafuti International Airport (FUN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Up to 1999 Air Marshall Islands operated a Hawker Siddeley HS 748 with a passenger load of 55.
• The military airfield included an airstrip, control tower, facilities and radio station at Tepuka, connected by cable to the airfield.
• The closest airport to Funafuti International Airport (FUN) is Arorae Island Airport (AIS), which is located 440 miles (708 kilometers) NNW of FUN.

Facts about Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP):

• Between 1946 and 1947, passenger airlines serving Detroit moved from Detroit City Airport on the city's crowded east side, to Willow Run.
• The closest airport to Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP) is Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) E of YIP.
• The furthest airport from Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,276 miles (18,147 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP) has 4 runways.
• Almost all of Detroit's scheduled airline flights used Willow Run until 1958, when the coming of the Jet Age drove traffic to the Romulus airfield, which had that year been renamed Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, and offered carriers the promise of more efficient and modern operations, with a brand-new terminal designed for the new aircraft, a newly expanded runway configuration and state-of-the-art approach controls that made it the first inland airport in the country certified for commercial jet operations.
• The Willow Run bomber plant had many problems at startup, due in part to the mindsets and technical skills of both management and labor, who were each accustomed to the requirements of auto production, finding it difficult at first to adapt to the higher precision required in aircraft production.
• Because of Willow Run Airport (YIP)'s relatively low elevation of 716 feet, planes can take off or land at Willow Run Airport (YIP) 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.