Nonstop flight route between Kieta, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea and Bossier City, Louisiana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE), Kieta, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea and Barksdale Air Force Base (BAD), Bossier City, Louisiana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,651 miles (or 12,314 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 Kieta/Aropa Airport and Barksdale Air Force Base, 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 Kieta/Aropa Airport and Barksdale Air Force Base. 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 Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE):

• The furthest airport from Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,844 miles (19,061 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
• Kieta Airport is a closed airport in Kieta, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea.
• In addition to being known as "Kieta/Aropa Airport", another name for KIE is "AYIQ".
• Because of Kieta/Aropa Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Kieta/Aropa 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 Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE) is Balalae Airport (BAS), which is located 49 miles (79 kilometers) SSE of KIE.
• The airport was partially destroyed during the Bougainville Crisis of the 1990s and has been closed since then.
• Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The original grass airfield was occupied and expanded by the Imperial Japanese in spring 1942.

Facts about Barksdale Air Force Base (BAD):

• Barksdale is one of two remaining bases with assigned B-52 aircraft, all H models.
• In addition to being known as "Barksdale Air Force Base", another name for BAD is "Barksdale AFB".
• Also during World War II Barksdale played host to the major contingent of the Free French Air Forces and Nationalist Chinese aircrews.
• The closest airport to Barksdale Air Force Base (BAD) is Shreveport Downtown Airport (DTN), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) WNW of BAD.
• The commander of the 2d Bomb Wing is Colonel Andrew Gebara.
• The furthest airport from Barksdale Air Force Base (BAD) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,884 miles (17,516 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Units at Barksdale include the oldest bomb wing in the Air Force, the 2d Bomb Wing.
• The 47th Bomb Wing was assigned to NATO and was reassigned first to Langley AFB in March 1951, then afterwards to RAF Sculthorpe, England, arriving in the UK on 1 May 1951.
• The 2d Bomb Wing was assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command on 1 February 2010.
• Construction of Barksdale Field began in 1931, when hangars, runways, and billets were built.
• By the mid-1930s, Barksdale Field was the headquarters and main base of the 3rd Attack Wing, equipped with the Curtiss A-12 and Northrop A-17.