Nonstop flight route between Hickory, North Carolina, United States and Lugano, Agno, Switzerland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hickory Regional Airport (HKY), Hickory, North Carolina, United States and Lugano Airport (LUG), Lugano, Agno, Switzerland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,514 miles (or 7,265 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 Lugano 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 Lugano 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):

• Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) is Foothills Regional Airport (MRN), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of HKY.
• The airport has an operating control tower from 7:00am to 9:00pm daily for safety and sequencing of aircraft landing and departing.
• In the Fall of 1973, the Federal Aviation Administration, following much planning and work, commissioned an Air Traffic Control Tower at the Hickory Airport.
• Local officials hope to attract future commercial airline service, despite challenges caused by the relatively close proximity of the large Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.
• The Hickory Municipal Airport was first opened to aircraft traffic on May 17, 1940.
• 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 Lugano Airport (LUG):

• Because of Lugano Airport's relatively low elevation of 915 feet, planes can take off or land at Lugano 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 airport has a single, bi-directional runway with an asphalt surface, identified as 01/19.
• The closest airport to Lugano Airport (LUG) is Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SSW of LUG.
• In the early 1980s, the airline Crossair decided to invest in the airport, establishing connections between Lugano and various European cities.
• The current location of the airport dates back to 1938, when it opened as a grass field.
• The furthest airport from Lugano Airport (LUG) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Lugano Airport (meaning Lugano Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,134 miles (19,527 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Around 200,000 passengers use the airport each year, using some 2,400 flights.
• The airport's instrument approach procedure is quite challenging because of its steep angle of descent of 6.65°, more than double of the standard approach angle of 3°.
• In addition to being known as "Lugano Airport", another name for LUG is "Aeroporto di Lugano".
• A shuttle bus connects the airport with Lugano railway station and city centre, meeting most scheduled flights.
• Lugano Airport (LUG) currently has only 1 runway.