Nonstop flight route between Khost, Afghanistan and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Khost Airport (KHT), Khost, Afghanistan and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,121 miles (or 9,851 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 Khost 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 Khost 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 Khost Airport (KHT):

• The furthest airport from Khost Airport (KHT) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is nearly antipodal to Khost Airport (meaning Khost Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mataveri International Airport), and is located 12,009 miles (19,326 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Work began to improve the Khost Airport in September 2011.
• There had been three major reported accidents, all of them during the 1980s mujahideen fighting and involved Russian-made Antonov An-26 aircraft.
• In addition to being known as "Khost Airport", other names for KHT include "Khost Airport (Khost)", "دخوست هوائی ډګر" and "KDH".
• In December 2009, seven CIA employees were killed in a suicide attack at the nearby Forward Operating Base Chapman.
• The closest airport to Khost Airport (KHT) is Bannu Airport (BNP), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) SE of KHT.
• Khost Airport (KHT) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• There is one navigational aid, the Buka NDB situated on nearby Sohano Island.
• 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.
• 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 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 January 1944, the Allies drove the Japanese out of Buka, and the airfield was used for operations against the Japanese over New Guinea.
• It is located at the southern end of the island, near Buka Passage behind the town of Buka, and pre-war Chinatown.
• 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.