Nonstop flight route between Honolulu, Hawaii, United States and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Honolulu International Airport (HNL), Honolulu, Hawaii, United States and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,704 miles (or 5,961 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 Honolulu International 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 Honolulu International 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Honolulu International Airport (HNL):

• In 2012, the airport handled 19,291,412 passengers, 278,145 aircraft movements and processed 412,270 metric tonnes of cargo.
• In 2011, Hawaiian Airlines renovated the check-in lobby of the Interisland Terminal, replacing the traditional check-in counters with six circular check-in islands in the middle of the lobbies, which can be used for inter-island, mainland, and international flights.
• The original terminal building on the southeast side of runways 4 was replaced by the John Rodgers Terminal, which was dedicated on August 22, 1962 and opened on October 14, 1962.
• Honolulu International Airport (HNL) has 6 runways.
• The Commuter Terminal serves smaller airlines which operate flights between both the smaller and major commercial airports in the island chain.
• The entire terminal complex features twenty-four-hour medical services, restaurants, shopping centers and a business center with conference rooms for private use.
• Honolulu International Airport is the principal aviation gateway of the City & County of Honolulu and the State of Hawaii and is identified as one of the busiest airports in the United States, with traffic now exceeding 21 million passengers a year and rising.
• Because of Honolulu International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Honolulu International 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 Honolulu International Airport (HNL) is Hickam Field (HIK), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of HNL.
• It is located in the Honolulu census-designated place three miles northwest of Oahu's central business district.
• The furthest airport from Honolulu International Airport (HNL) is Ghanzi Airport (GNZ), which is nearly antipodal to Honolulu International Airport (meaning Honolulu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ghanzi Airport), and is located 12,399 miles (19,955 kilometers) away in Ghanzi, Botswana.

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.
• 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.
• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• On 26 July, an Imperial Japanese Navy special detachment was sent to inspect Buka Airfield, but considered it unacceptable as a prospect for a speedily constructed major airfield.
• 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.