Nonstop flight route between Freetown, Sierra Leone and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from HGS to BUA:
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- About this route
- HGS Airport Information
- BUA Airport Information
- Facts about HGS
- Facts about BUA
- Map of Nearest Airports to HGS
- List of Nearest Airports to HGS
- Map of Furthest Airports from HGS
- List of Furthest Airports from HGS
- Map of Nearest Airports to BUA
- List of Nearest Airports to BUA
- Map of Furthest Airports from BUA
- List of Furthest Airports from BUA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Hastings Airport (HGS), Freetown, Sierra Leone and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,575 miles (or 18,629 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 Hastings 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 Hastings 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | HGS / GFHA |
Airport Name: | Hastings Airport |
Location: | Freetown, Sierra Leone |
GPS Coordinates: | 8°23'39"N by 13°7'41"W |
Area Served: | Freetown |
Elevation: | 60 feet (18 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from HGS |
More Information: | HGS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BUA / AYBK |
Airport Name: | Buka Island Airport |
Location: | Buka Island, Papua New Guinea |
GPS Coordinates: | 5°25'19"S by 154°40'21"E |
Area Served: | Buka Island, Papua New Guinea |
Operator/Owner: | Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 11 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from BUA |
More Information: | BUA Maps & Info |
Facts about Hastings Airport (HGS):
- Hastings Airport (HGS) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Hastings Airport's relatively low elevation of 60 feet, planes can take off or land at Hastings 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 closest airport to Hastings Airport (HGS) is Lungi International Airport (FNA), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NNW of HGS.
- The furthest airport from Hastings Airport (HGS) is Ulawa Airport (RNA), which is nearly antipodal to Hastings Airport (meaning Hastings Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ulawa Airport), and is located 12,088 miles (19,454 kilometers) away in Arona, Ulawa Island, Solomon Islands.
Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):
- 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.
- 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.
- Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
- There is one navigational aid, the Buka NDB situated on nearby Sohano Island.
- The origins of the airfield begin in 1941 when Australian troops built gun pits around a primitive airstrip in December 1941.
- 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.