Nonstop flight route between Gweru, Zimbabwe and Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from GWE to LEA:
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- About this route
- GWE Airport Information
- LEA Airport Information
- Facts about GWE
- Facts about LEA
- Map of Nearest Airports to GWE
- List of Nearest Airports to GWE
- Map of Furthest Airports from GWE
- List of Furthest Airports from GWE
- Map of Nearest Airports to LEA
- List of Nearest Airports to LEA
- Map of Furthest Airports from LEA
- List of Furthest Airports from LEA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE), Gweru, Zimbabwe and RAAF Learmonth (LEA), Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,366 miles (or 8,635 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 Gweru-Thornhill Air Base and RAAF Learmonth, 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 Gweru-Thornhill Air Base and RAAF Learmonth. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GWE / FVTL |
Airport Name: | Gweru-Thornhill Air Base |
Location: | Gweru, Zimbabwe |
GPS Coordinates: | 19°26'11"S by 29°51'42"E |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 4680 feet (1,426 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from GWE |
More Information: | GWE Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LEA / YPLM |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 22°14'8"S by 114°5'18"E |
Area Served: | Exmouth, Western Australia |
Operator/Owner: | RAAF/Shire of Exmouth |
Airport Type: | Military/Public |
Elevation: | 19 feet (6 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from LEA |
More Information: | LEA Maps & Info |
Facts about Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE):
- Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE) has 2 runways.
- Because of Gweru-Thornhill Air Base's high elevation of 4,680 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GWE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GWE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The closest airport to Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE) is Masvingo Airport (MVZ), which is located 78 miles (125 kilometers) ESE of GWE.
- The furthest airport from Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (meaning Gweru-Thornhill Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,117 miles (19,500 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
Facts about RAAF Learmonth (LEA):
- During World War II a little-known landing field was constructed on the western shore of Exmouth Gulf.
- In the mid-1960s, the Federal Government gave its support to plans by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Val Hancock, to redevelop Learmonth as a 'bare base', due to its proximity to Indonesia.
- In addition to being known as "RAAF Learmonth", another name for LEA is "Learmonth Airport".
- RAAF Learmonth handled 90,861 passengers last year.
- Because of RAAF Learmonth's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at RAAF Learmonth 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.
- Learmonth Airport was ranked 49th in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2012-2013.
- The closest airport to RAAF Learmonth (LEA) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is located 127 miles (204 kilometers) NE of LEA.
- The furthest airport from RAAF Learmonth (LEA) is Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (SIG), which is nearly antipodal to RAAF Learmonth (meaning RAAF Learmonth is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport), and is located 12,175 miles (19,594 kilometers) away in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- RAAF Learmonth (LEA) currently has only 1 runway.
- On 7 October 2008, Qantas Flight 72 made an emergency landing at RAAF Learmonth.