Nonstop flight route between Hillsboro / Portland, Oregon, United States and Kolwezi, Lualaba District, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO), Hillsboro / Portland, Oregon, United States and Kolwezi Airport (KWZ), Kolwezi, Lualaba District, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,399 miles (or 15,126 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 Portland-Hillsboro Airport and Kolwezi 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 Portland-Hillsboro Airport and Kolwezi 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 Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO):

• Located in the north-central area of Hillsboro, and west of Portland, it hosts the annual Oregon International Air Show.
• Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO) is Portland International Airport (PDX), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) E of HIO.
• Facilities include a 6,600-foot runway, a 4,049-foot runway, and an FAA control tower.
• Hillsboro airport is often mentioned as a reliever airport for Portland International Airport.
• Because of Portland-Hillsboro Airport's relatively low elevation of 204 feet, planes can take off or land at Portland-Hillsboro 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 Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,913 miles (17,563 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• A Horizon Air plane was hijacked on May 2, 1986, en route from Eugene to Portland, with the pilot able to convince the hijacker to allow the plane to land at HIO where the hijacker was arrested.
• Hillsboro airport goes back to as early as 1928.
• The airport handled 259,263 flights in 2008, surpassing Portland International in this category.

Facts about Kolwezi Airport (KWZ):

• The furthest airport from Kolwezi Airport (KWZ) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,817 miles (19,018 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• Kolwezi Airport (KWZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Kolwezi Airport's high elevation of 5,007 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KWZ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KWZ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Kolwezi Airport (KWZ) is Solwezi Airport (SLI), which is located 113 miles (183 kilometers) SSE of KWZ.