Nonstop flight route between Alotau, Papua New Guinea and Fairfield, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gurney Airport (GUR), Alotau, Papua New Guinea and Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield (SUU), Fairfield, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,537 miles (or 10,520 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 Gurney Airport and Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield, 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 Gurney Airport and Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield. 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 Gurney Airport (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.
• Gurney Airport is an airport serving Alotau in the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea.
• The closest airport to Gurney Airport (GUR) is Vivigani Airport (VIV), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) N of GUR.
• Gurney Airport (GUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.

Facts about Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield (SUU):

• In addition to being known as "Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield", another name for SUU is "Travis AFB".
• Travis AFB also plays host to the Jimmy Doolittle Air & Space Museum, one of the largest collections of military aircraft on the west coast.
• The Army Corps of Engineers San Francisco District commenced work in 1959 on a CIM-10 Bomarc surface-to-air missile installation near Travis 38°29′14″N 121°53′07″W / 38.48722°N 121.88528°W / 38.48722.
• The demolition and reconstruction of Runway 21L-03R, as well as the construction of a new C-17 Assault Landing Zone, began on 4 February 2010 with completion expected sometime late in the fall of 2012.
• The sites at Elmira and Fairfield/Cement Hill later received modifications to accept the Nike Hercules missile, while the sites at Dixon/Lambie and Potrero Hills were inactivated in 1959.
• The furthest airport from Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield (SUU) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,315 miles (18,210 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Originally named Fairfield-Suisun Army Air Base, construction began on Travis in June 1942.
• The closest airport to Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield (SUU) is Nut Tree Airport (VCB), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NNW of SUU.