Nonstop flight route between Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Port Heiden, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Goma Airport (GOM), Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Port Heiden Airport (PTH), Port Heiden, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,592 miles (or 13,827 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 Goma Airport and Port Heiden 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 Goma Airport and Port Heiden 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 Goma Airport (GOM):

• Goma Airport (GOM) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Goma Airport's high elevation of 5,089 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GOM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GOM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Initially built with a paved 3 km runway and a large terminal and apron, the airport has not recovered from the 2002 eruption of the volcano Nyiragongo, 14 km to the north.
• At 17:55 local time on 4 March 2013, a Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation Fokker 50 from Lodja crashed short of landing in heavy rain, into a residential area.
• The closest airport to Goma Airport (GOM) is Gisenyi Airport (GYI), which is located only 2 miles (2 kilometers) ESE of GOM.
• The furthest airport from Goma Airport (GOM) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,981 miles (19,282 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.

Facts about Port Heiden Airport (PTH):

• The furthest airport from Port Heiden Airport (PTH) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,850 miles (17,462 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
• Port Heiden Airport is a state owned, public use airport located six nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Port Heiden, in the Lake and Peninsula Borough of the U.S.
• Port Heiden Airport (PTH) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Port Heiden Airport", other names for PTH include "Port Heiden Air Force Station" and "Fort Morrow Army Airfield".
• The Air Force remediated the radar site around 2000, removing all abandoned military structures and returning the site to a natural condition.
• The closest airport to Port Heiden Airport (PTH) is Chignik Fisheries Airport (KCG), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) S of PTH.
• Because of Port Heiden Airport's relatively low elevation of 95 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Heiden 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.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 919 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 964 enplanements in 2009, and 1,037 in 2010.