Nonstop flight route between Houston, Texas, United States and Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), Houston, Texas, United States and Saipan International Airport (SPN), Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,332 miles (or 11,800 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 William P. Hobby Airport and Saipan International 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 William P. Hobby Airport and Saipan International 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 William P. Hobby Airport (HOU):

• The closest airport to William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) is Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) ESE of HOU.
• The April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows 26 weekday departures on Eastern, 20 Braniff, nine Continental, nine Delta, nine Trans-Texas, four National, two Pan American and one American.
• William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) has 4 runways.
• William P. Hobby Airport handled 9,054,001 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,002 miles (17,706 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "William P. Hobby Airport", another name for HOU is "Houston Hobby".
• Houston Mayor Annise Parker backed Southwest's flight to make Hobby an international airport on May 23, 2012.
• The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas, or METRO, stops at Curbzone 13.
• Because of William P. Hobby Airport's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at William P. Hobby 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.

Facts about Saipan International Airport (SPN):

• The closest airport to Saipan International Airport (SPN) is Tinian International Airport (TIQ), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SW of SPN.
• After several months of disappointing high level bombing attacks from Isely, General Curtis LeMay, Commander of Twentieth Air Force issued a new directive that the high-altitude, daylight attacks be phased out and replaced by low-altitude, high-intensity incendiary raids at nighttime, being followed up with high explosive bombs once the targets were set ablaze.
• Saipan International Airport covers an area of 734 acres which contains one paved runway measuring 8,700 x 200 ft.
• The furthest airport from Saipan International Airport (SPN) is Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho) (SSA), which is nearly antipodal to Saipan International Airport (meaning Saipan International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho)), and is located 12,125 miles (19,514 kilometers) away in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
• Once in American hands, Isely Field was expanded considerably to support Twentieth Air Force B-29 Superfortress operations.
• Saipan International Airport (SPN) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Saipan International Airport", other names for SPN include "Francisco C. Ada Airport" and "GSN".
• Because of Saipan International Airport's relatively low elevation of 215 feet, planes can take off or land at Saipan 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.