Nonstop flight route between Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia and Fangatau, French Polynesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAAF Learmonth (LEA), Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia and Fangatau Airport (FGU), Fangatau, French Polynesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,725 miles (or 10,823 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 RAAF Learmonth and Fangatau 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 RAAF Learmonth and Fangatau 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 RAAF Learmonth (LEA):

• 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.
• RAAF Learmonth, also known as Learmonth Airport, is a joint use Royal Australian Air Force base and civil airport.
• RAAF Learmonth (LEA) currently has only 1 runway.
• RAAF Learmonth handled 90,861 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "RAAF Learmonth", another name for LEA is "Learmonth Airport".
• 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.
• In the mid-1960s, the Federal Government gave its support to plans by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Val Hancock, to redevelop Learmonth as a 'bare base', due to its proximity to Indonesia.
• 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.

Facts about Fangatau Airport (FGU):

• The closest airport to Fangatau Airport (FGU) is Raroia Airport (RRR), which is located 107 miles (172 kilometers) W of FGU.
• Fangatau Airport (FGU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Fangatau Airport (FGU) is Massawa International Airport (MSW), which is nearly antipodal to Fangatau Airport (meaning Fangatau Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Massawa International Airport), and is located 12,417 miles (19,984 kilometers) away in Massawa, Eritrea.
• In addition to being known as "Fangatau Airport", another name for FGU is "Aérodrome de Fangatau".
• Because of Fangatau Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Fangatau 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.