Nonstop flight route between West Lafayette, Indiana, United States and Vientiane, Laos:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from LAF to VTE:
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- About this route
- LAF Airport Information
- VTE Airport Information
- Facts about LAF
- Facts about VTE
- Map of Nearest Airports to LAF
- List of Nearest Airports to LAF
- Map of Furthest Airports from LAF
- List of Furthest Airports from LAF
- Map of Nearest Airports to VTE
- List of Nearest Airports to VTE
- Map of Furthest Airports from VTE
- List of Furthest Airports from VTE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Purdue University Airport (LAF), West Lafayette, Indiana, United States and Wattay International Airport (VTE), Vientiane, Laos would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,356 miles (or 13,447 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 Purdue University Airport and Wattay 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 Purdue University Airport and Wattay International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LAF / KLAF |
Airport Name: | Purdue University Airport |
Location: | West Lafayette, Indiana, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 40°24'43"N by 86°56'12"W |
Area Served: | Lafayette, Indiana |
Operator/Owner: | Purdue University |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 606 feet (185 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from LAF |
More Information: | LAF Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | VTE / VLVT |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Vientiane, Laos |
GPS Coordinates: | 17°59'17"N by 102°33'47"E |
Operator/Owner: | Military of Laos |
Airport Type: | Military/Public/Civil Aviation Authority |
Elevation: | 564 feet (172 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from VTE |
More Information: | VTE Maps & Info |
Facts about Purdue University Airport (LAF):
- Because of Purdue University Airport's relatively low elevation of 606 feet, planes can take off or land at Purdue University 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.
- Runway 23 has a displaced threshold, which shortens the runway to 3,913 ft for landing operations.
- Purdue University Airport also had its own airline, Purdue Airlines in the 1960s and 1970s.
- Evergreen International maintained a short-lived cargo operation at the Airport in the late 1970s using Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprop aircraft.
- The furthest airport from Purdue University Airport (LAF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,148 miles (17,941 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Purdue University Airport was the first university-owned airport in the United States.
- The closest airport to Purdue University Airport (LAF) is Kentland Municipal Airport (KKT), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) NW of LAF.
- Purdue University Airport (LAF) has 2 runways.
Facts about Wattay International Airport (VTE):
- Wattay International Airport (VTE) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Wattay International Airport's relatively low elevation of 564 feet, planes can take off or land at Wattay 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 airport has a bonded warehouse building for air cargo passing through the airport.
- In addition to being known as "Wattay International Airport", other names for VTE include "ສະໜາມບິນສາກົນວັດໄຕ" and "สนามบินนานาชาติวัตไต".
- The closest airport to Wattay International Airport (VTE) is Udon Thani International Airport ท่าอากาศยานอุดรธานี (UTH), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) SSE of VTE.
- The furthest airport from Wattay International Airport (VTE) is Maria Reiche Neuman Airport (NZC), which is nearly antipodal to Wattay International Airport (meaning Wattay International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maria Reiche Neuman Airport), and is located 12,165 miles (19,578 kilometers) away in Nazca, Ica Region, Peru.