Nonstop flight route between Lifuka, Ha'apai, Tonga and Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lifuka Island Airport (HPA), Lifuka, Ha'apai, Tonga and RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ), Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,171 miles (or 16,369 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 Lifuka Island Airport and RAF Honington USAAF Station 375, 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 Lifuka Island Airport and RAF Honington USAAF Station 375. 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 Lifuka Island Airport (HPA):

• Lifuka Island Airport (HPA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Lifuka Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 31 feet, planes can take off or land at Lifuka 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.
• The furthest airport from Lifuka Island Airport (HPA) is In Guezzam Airport (INF), which is nearly antipodal to Lifuka Island Airport (meaning Lifuka Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from In Guezzam Airport), and is located 12,421 miles (19,989 kilometers) away in In Guezzam, Algeria.
• The closest airport to Lifuka Island Airport (HPA) is Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU), which is located 114 miles (183 kilometers) SSW of HPA.
• In addition to being known as "Lifuka Island Airport", another name for HPA is "Salote Pilolevu Airport".

Facts about RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ):

• The furthest airport from RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,834 miles (19,044 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• From 1950 to 1956, RAF Honington housed No.
• In 1941, a Junkers Ju 88 was shot down by ground fire from Honington.
• The closest airport to RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ) is RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WNW of BEQ.
• With the departure of the USAAF in February 1946, Honington airfield was returned to the RAF.
• In the event, the F-111 never entered service with the RAF, and in 1968, the airfield became the UK base for the RAF's Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer bomber.
• In June 1942, the airfield was transferred to the USAAF and was upgraded to a Class A Bomber base.
• Construction of Honington airfield began in 1935, and the facility was opened on 3 May 1937.
• Besides the air depot, Honington also housed an operational fighter unit when the 364th Fighter Group took up residence at Honington in February 1944, arriving from Santa Maria AAF, California.