Nonstop flight route between London, England, United Kingdom and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,962 miles (or 14,423 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 Gatwick Airport and Buka Island 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 Gatwick Airport and Buka Island 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 Gatwick Airport (LGW):

• On 6 July 1935, the aerodrome closed temporarily for renovations, which included the construction of the "Beehive", the world's first circular terminal building.
• In May 1950, Gatwick's first charter flight left the airport's original grass runway for Calvi on the Mediterranean island of Corsica.
• The closest airport to Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Redhill Aerodrome (KRH), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNE of LGW.
• British Caledonian began the first transatlantic scheduled service by a private UK airline to New York and Los Angeles from Gatwick in April 1973.
• Two fatal accidents occurred, raising questions about the airport's safety.
• Because of Gatwick Airport's relatively low elevation of 203 feet, planes can take off or land at Gatwick 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.
• Gatwick Airport handled 35,444,206 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,901 miles (19,152 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Gatwick Airport (LGW) has 2 runways.
• Beginning in the late 1950s, a number of British contemporary private airlines joined Airwork at the airport.

Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• 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 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.
• There is one navigational aid, the Buka NDB situated on nearby Sohano Island.
• In January 1944, the Allies drove the Japanese out of Buka, and the airfield was used for operations against the Japanese over New Guinea.