Nonstop flight route between Hickory, North Carolina, United States and Canton Island, Kiribati:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hickory Regional Airport (HKY), Hickory, North Carolina, United States and Canton Island Airport (CIS), Canton Island, Kiribati would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,348 miles (or 10,216 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 Hickory Regional Airport and Canton 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 Hickory Regional Airport and Canton Island 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 Hickory Regional Airport (HKY):

• The Hickory Municipal Airport was first opened to aircraft traffic on May 17, 1940.
• The closest airport to Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) is Foothills Regional Airport (MRN), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of HKY.
• Most recently, in 2005, Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines operated Bombardier CRJ200 Regional Jets on their direct service to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, before ceasing this service in the fall of the year.
• The airport has an operating control tower from 7:00am to 9:00pm daily for safety and sequencing of aircraft landing and departing.
• Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) has 2 runways.
• While not currently served by any commercial airline, the Hickory Regional Airport has had such service for much of its history.
• The furthest airport from Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,494 miles (18,499 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Canton Island Airport (CIS):

• Though Kanton Island was never physically invaded by Japanese forces, the airfield was bombarded on 1 November 1943 by the Japanese submarine I-36.
• The furthest airport from Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Malabo International Airport (SSG), which is nearly antipodal to Canton Island Airport (meaning Canton Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Malabo International Airport), and is located 12,363 miles (19,896 kilometers) away in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
• The airport was used as a military airfield during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces in 1942 and 1943, initially being used by the 40th Ferrying Squadron, Ferrying Command as an airfield for moving combat aircraft to forward combat units.
• The closest airport to Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is located 741 miles (1,193 kilometers) WSW of CIS.
• The political status of the island was uncertain at first, with American and British settlers occupying two separate camps on the island.
• Because of Canton Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Canton 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.
• Canton Island Airport (CIS) currently has only 1 runway.