Nonstop flight route between Gapuwiyak (Lake Evella), Northern Territory, Australia and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lake Evella Airport (LEL), Gapuwiyak (Lake Evella), Northern Territory, Australia and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,376 miles (or 2,215 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 relatively short distance between Lake Evella Airport and Buka Island Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Lake Evella Airport (LEL):

• Lake Evella Airport (LEL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Lake Evella Airport's relatively low elevation of 256 feet, planes can take off or land at Lake Evella 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 Lake Evella Airport (LEL) is Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport (CAY), which is located 11,667 miles (18,777 kilometers) away in Cayenne, French Guiana.
• The closest airport to Lake Evella Airport (LEL) is Elcho Island Airport (ELC), which is located 37 miles (59 kilometers) NNW of LEL.

Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• The furthest airport from Buka Island Airport (BUA) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,781 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
• It is located at the southern end of the island, near Buka Passage behind the town of Buka, and pre-war Chinatown.
• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Buka Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Buka Island 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 origins of the airfield begin in 1941 when Australian troops built gun pits around a primitive airstrip in December 1941.
• The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• Today the airport is the primary air portal into Bougainville, and even 60 years after the war, wreckage from the military use of the airfield by the Japanese and Americans is easily found in the area.
• On 13 May 1943 Allied reconnaissance observed 36 fighters and 6 bombers at the airstrip.
• On 26 July, an Imperial Japanese Navy special detachment was sent to inspect Buka Airfield, but considered it unacceptable as a prospect for a speedily constructed major airfield.