Nonstop flight route between Lahaina, Hawaii, United States and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from JHM to BUA:
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- About this route
- JHM Airport Information
- BUA Airport Information
- Facts about JHM
- Facts about BUA
- Map of Nearest Airports to JHM
- List of Nearest Airports to JHM
- Map of Furthest Airports from JHM
- List of Furthest Airports from JHM
- Map of Nearest Airports to BUA
- List of Nearest Airports to BUA
- Map of Furthest Airports from BUA
- List of Furthest Airports from BUA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Kapalua Airport (JHM), Lahaina, Hawaii, United States and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,768 miles (or 6,063 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 Kapalua 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 Kapalua 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | JHM / PHJH |
Airport Name: | Kapalua Airport |
Location: | Lahaina, Hawaii, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 20°57'47"N by 156°40'23"W |
Area Served: | Lahaina, Hawaii |
Operator/Owner: | Hawaii Department of Transportation |
Airport Type: | Private use, publicly owned |
Elevation: | 256 feet (78 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from JHM |
More Information: | JHM Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BUA / AYBK |
Airport Name: | Buka Island Airport |
Location: | Buka Island, Papua New Guinea |
GPS Coordinates: | 5°25'19"S by 154°40'21"E |
Area Served: | Buka Island, Papua New Guinea |
Operator/Owner: | Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 11 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from BUA |
More Information: | BUA Maps & Info |
Facts about Kapalua Airport (JHM):
- Because of Kapalua Airport's relatively low elevation of 256 feet, planes can take off or land at Kapalua 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.
- Kapalua Airport is governed by a special agreement made by the state with Maui County.
- Kapalua Airport is part of a centralized state structure governing all of the airports and seaports of Hawaii.
- Kapalua Airport (JHM) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Kapalua Airport (JHM) is Kahului Airport (OGG), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) ESE of JHM.
- The furthest airport from Kapalua Airport (JHM) is Maun Airport (MUB), which is nearly antipodal to Kapalua Airport (meaning Kapalua Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maun Airport), and is located 12,368 miles (19,904 kilometers) away in Maun, Botswana.
- Mahalo Air, which operated between 1993 and 1997, also served Kapalua with flights to Honolulu using ATR 42 twin turboprop aircraft.
Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):
- Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
- It is located at the southern end of the island, near Buka Passage behind the town of Buka, and pre-war Chinatown.
- 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.
- In 2004, the airport experienced some closures due to land disputes.
- 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.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.