Nonstop flight route between Gisenyi, Rwanda and Norfolk, Virginia, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gisenyi Airport (GYI), Gisenyi, Rwanda and Naval Station Norfolk (NGU), Norfolk, Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,146 miles (or 11,500 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 Gisenyi Airport and Naval Station Norfolk, 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 Gisenyi Airport and Naval Station Norfolk. 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 Gisenyi Airport (GYI):

• Gisenyi Airport (GYI) currently has only 1 runway.
• RwandAir, the national carrier, operated a three weekly service between Gisenyi Airport and Kigali International Airport.
• The closest airport to Gisenyi Airport (GYI) is Goma Airport (GOM), which is located only 2 miles (2 kilometers) WNW of GYI.
• Because of Gisenyi Airport's high elevation of 5,082 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GYI. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GYI a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Gisenyi Airport (GYI) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,980 miles (19,280 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.

Facts about Naval Station Norfolk (NGU):

• The closest airport to Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) is Norfolk International Airport (ORF), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ESE of NGU.
• The furthest airport from Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,762 miles (18,929 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) currently has only 1 runway.
• Using the same theories of Eugene Ely's flight nearly 13 years earlier, another milestone was achieved.
• Norfolk responded by renaming the road, Admiral Taussig Boulevard, in honor of the retiring commander of the Naval Operating Base.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Station Norfolk", another name for NGU is "Chambers Field".
• Lighter-than-air operations, important for off-shore patrols during the war, ceased in 1924.
• After war was formally declared following Pearl Harbor, Germany began a U-boat offensive, "Operation Drumbeat", against shipping along the Atlantic coast.
• When the United States became involved in World War I, the size of the Navy's air component was rapidly expanded.
• During the 1920s and '30s the Naval Station operated at a reduced operating tempo.