Nonstop flight route between Kieta, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea and Seoul, South Korea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE), Kieta, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea and Gimpo International Airport (GMP), Seoul, South Korea would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,558 miles (or 5,725 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 Gimpo 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 Kieta/Aropa Airport and Gimpo 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 Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE):

• 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 original grass airfield was occupied and expanded by the Imperial Japanese in spring 1942.
• The closest airport to Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE) is Balalae Airport (BAS), which is located 49 miles (79 kilometers) SSE of 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.
• In addition to being known as "Kieta/Aropa Airport", another name for KIE is "AYIQ".
• On 13 February 2012, Papua New Guinea Post-Courier reported that the landowners had announced their intention to reopen the airport.
• Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Gimpo International Airport (GMP):

• Kimpo played a major role during the Korean War, the USAF designated the airfield as Kimpo Air Base or K-14.
• The closest airport to Gimpo International Airport (GMP) is Gimpo International Airport (SEL), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of GMP.
• Captured KPAF Ilyushin Il-10, 21 September 1950
• Gimpo International Airport handled 19,424,032 passengers last year.
• Gimpo International Airport (GMP) has 2 runways.
• Engine change on an F-86E in 1952
• The furthest airport from Gimpo International Airport (GMP) is Villa Gesell Airport (VLG), which is nearly antipodal to Gimpo International Airport (meaning Gimpo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Villa Gesell Airport), and is located 12,226 miles (19,676 kilometers) away in Villa Gesell, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• Following the Chinese Third Phase Campaign and the defeat of UN Forces at the 38th parallel, on 5 January 1951 General Ridgway ordered the evacuation of Seoul and the withdrawal of UN forces to a new defensive line along the 37th parallel.
• In 1958 Kimpo was designated as the international airport of the South Korean capital city and has grown into a much more significant airport that is capable of handling 226,000 flights a year.
• Because of Gimpo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 58 feet, planes can take off or land at Gimpo 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.
• In addition to being known as "Gimpo International Airport", other names for GMP include "김포국제공항 金浦國際空港" and "Gimpo Gukje Gonghang Kimp'o Kukche Konghang".