Nonstop flight route between Geneva, Switzerland and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Geneva International Airport (GVA), Geneva, Switzerland and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,050 miles (or 14,564 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 Geneva International Airport and Buka Island 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 Geneva International Airport and Buka Island 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 Geneva International Airport (GVA):

• Before passing through customs, machines dispense free 80 minute tickets for Transports Publics Genevois, which are valid for both the city buses and trains to Geneva.
• Its northern limit runs along the Swiss–French border and the airport can be accessed from both countries.
• On May 7, 1968, Geneva Main Terminal was inaugurated, which was planned to accommodate 7 million passengers a year.
• In addition to being known as "Geneva International Airport", another name for GVA is "Aéroport international de GenèveGenève aéroport".
• Geneva International Airport handled 14,436,000 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Geneva International Airport (GVA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Geneva International Airport (meaning Geneva International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,227 miles (19,678 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Geneva International Airport (GVA) is Annemasse Aerodrome (QNJ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of GVA.
• The airline Baboo had its head office on the grounds of the airport and in Le Grand-Saconnex.
• The airport has a single concrete runway, which is the longest in Switzerland with a length of 3,900 m, and a smaller, parallel, grass runway for light aircraft.
• A new terminal project named 'Aile Est' starting in 2012, will modernize and extend Pier C following a complete reconstruction.
• Geneva International Airport (GVA) has 2 runways.

Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• Today the airport is the primary air portal into Bougainville, and even 60 years after the war, wreckage from the military use of the airfield by the Japanese and Americans is easily found in the area.
• Because of Buka Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Buka Island 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 furthest airport from Buka Island Airport (BUA) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,781 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
• On 26 July, an Imperial Japanese Navy special detachment was sent to inspect Buka Airfield, but considered it unacceptable as a prospect for a speedily constructed major airfield.