Nonstop flight route between Kieta, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea and Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE), Kieta, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea and RAAF Learmonth (LEA), Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,984 miles (or 4,802 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 RAAF Learmonth, 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 RAAF Learmonth. 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):

• Nowadays the airfield is disused and overgrown with bush.
• The airport was partially destroyed during the Bougainville Crisis of the 1990s and has been closed since then.
• In addition to being known as "Kieta/Aropa Airport", another name for KIE is "AYIQ".
• Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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.
• The closest airport to Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE) is Balalae Airport (BAS), which is located 49 miles (79 kilometers) SSE of KIE.
• On 13 February 2012, Papua New Guinea Post-Courier reported that the landowners had announced their intention to reopen the airport.

Facts about RAAF Learmonth (LEA):

• RAAF Learmonth (LEA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The RAAF also operates the Learmonth Air Weapons Range which covers about 18,954 ha and is located 30 km south-west of the airbase.
• On 7 October 2008, Qantas Flight 72 made an emergency landing at RAAF Learmonth.
• RAAF Learmonth handled 90,861 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "RAAF Learmonth", another name for LEA is "Learmonth Airport".
• During World War II a little-known landing field was constructed on the western shore of Exmouth Gulf.
• The closest airport to RAAF Learmonth (LEA) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is located 127 miles (204 kilometers) NE of LEA.
• The furthest airport from RAAF Learmonth (LEA) is Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (SIG), which is nearly antipodal to RAAF Learmonth (meaning RAAF Learmonth is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport), and is located 12,175 miles (19,594 kilometers) away in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• Learmonth Airport was ranked 49th in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2012-2013.
• Because of RAAF Learmonth's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at RAAF Learmonth 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.