Nonstop flight route between Nuuk, Greenland and Alotau, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nuuk Airport (GOH), Nuuk, Greenland and Gurney Airport (GUR), Alotau, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,563 miles (or 13,781 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 Nuuk Airport and Gurney 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 Nuuk Airport and Gurney 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 Nuuk Airport (GOH):

• Nuuk Airport (GOH) currently has only 1 runway.
• Nuuk airport has one asphalt runway 950 m × 30 m 283 ft above sea level.
• The closest airport to Nuuk Airport (GOH) is Maniitsoq Airport (JSU), which is located 92 miles (148 kilometers) NNW of GOH.
• In addition to being known as "Nuuk Airport", other names for GOH include "Mittarfik Nuuk" and "Nuuk Lufthavn".
• Another suggested alternative, is to build a new airport on one of the islands of Angisunnguaq or Qeqertarssuaq, locations having less turbulence, and allowing 2,800 m runway needed for the large planes used today to Denmark.
• Because of Nuuk Airport's relatively low elevation of 283 feet, planes can take off or land at Nuuk 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.
• Even in the later era of the fixed-wing, turboprop plane domination, the S-61N helicopters continued to link Nuuk with the smaller Paamiut town, until the airport was built there in 2007, replacing the old heliport.
• The furthest airport from Nuuk Airport (GOH) is Hobart International Airport (HBA), which is located 10,779 miles (17,347 kilometers) away in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
• Nuuk Airport handled 69,324 passengers last year.
• These well-grounded arguments for preserving the status quo pose a problem for the Government of Greenland, which oversees the development of the airport network through Mittarfeqarfiit, the airport administration authority.

Facts about Gurney Airport (GUR):

• Gurney Airport (GUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Gurney Airport (GUR) is Vivigani Airport (VIV), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) N of GUR.
• The furthest airport from Gurney Airport (GUR) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,966 miles (19,257 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
• Because of Gurney Airport's relatively low elevation of 89 feet, planes can take off or land at Gurney 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 airport is a single runway general aviation facility, however in December, 2008, the PNG Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation, Don Polye announced that aviation company Skyworld had been granted permission to operate direct flights from Cairns, Australia to Gurney.
• Built by the US Army 96th Engineer General Service Regiment, Company E of 46th Engineer General Service Regiment and No.