Nonstop flight route between Freetown, Sierra Leone and Lae, Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hastings Airport (HGS), Freetown, Sierra Leone and Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE), Lae, Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,051 miles (or 17,785 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 Lae Nadzab 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 Lae Nadzab 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 Hastings Airport (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.
• The closest airport to Hastings Airport (HGS) is Lungi International Airport (FNA), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NNW of HGS.
• 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.
• Hastings Airport (HGS) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE):

• Today, the former 'East Base' or No.
• The first parachute jump for the 503rd Parachute Regiment was during the Allied paratrooper assault on 5 September 1943.
• The furthest airport from Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,714 miles (18,852 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• The airfield in Lae was operating at the same time as Nadzab but business was significantly lost to the new airport complex became fully operational in 1977.
• In about 1910 the Gabmatsung/Gabmazung Lutheran mission station was established at Nadzab.
• Because of Lae Nadzab Airport's relatively low elevation of 239 feet, planes can take off or land at Lae Nadzab 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.
• Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) is Bulolo Airport (BUL), which is located 45 miles (72 kilometers) S of LAE.
• Lae airfield continued to be used by Air Niugini and other third-level airlines until 1987.