Nonstop flight route between Lae, Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea and Riga, Latvia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE), Lae, Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea and Riga International Airport (RIX), Riga, Latvia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,801 miles (or 12,554 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 Lae Nadzab Airport and Riga 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 Lae Nadzab Airport and Riga 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 Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE):

• After Lae was liberated, the United States Army built Nadzab airport and developed it into a massive airbase complex.
• Lae Nadzab Airport is a regional airport located at Nadzab 42 kilometres outside of Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea along the Highlands Highway.
• Because of Lae Nadzab Airport's relatively low elevation of 239 feet, planes can take off or land at Lae Nadzab 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 Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,714 miles (18,852 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airfield in Lae was operating at the same time as Nadzab but business was significantly lost to the new airport complex became fully operational in 1977.
• The first parachute jump for the 503rd Parachute Regiment was during the Allied paratrooper assault on 5 September 1943.
• The closest airport to Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) is Bulolo Airport (BUL), which is located 45 miles (72 kilometers) S of LAE.

Facts about Riga International Airport (RIX):

• Riga International Airport (RIX) currently has only 1 runway.
• AirBaltic has its head office on the property of Riga Airport.
• The closest airport to Riga International Airport (RIX) is Šiauliai International Airport (SQQ), which is located 74 miles (120 kilometers) SSW of RIX.
• The Latvian government plans to build another terminal capable of handling 20 million passengers a year.
• In addition to being known as "Riga International Airport", another name for RIX is "Starptautiskā lidosta “Rīga”".
• Because of Riga International Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Riga 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.
• The furthest airport from Riga International Airport (RIX) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,169 miles (17,975 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airport was built in 1973 as an alternative to Spilve Airport, which had become outdated.