Nonstop flight route between Lalibela, Ethiopia and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lalibela Airport (LLI), Lalibela, Ethiopia and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,029 miles (or 12,922 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 Lalibela 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 Lalibela 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 Lalibela Airport (LLI):

• Because of Lalibela Airport's high elevation of 6,424 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LLI. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LLI a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Lalibela Airport (LLI) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is nearly antipodal to Lalibela Airport (meaning Lalibela Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Atuona Airport), and is located 12,233 miles (19,687 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• Lalibela Airport (LLI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The main runway was rebuilt in 1997 at a cost of 53 million birr.
• The closest airport to Lalibela Airport (LLI) is Debre Tabor Airport (DBT), which is located 67 miles (107 kilometers) W of LLI.

Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• 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.
• 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.
• On 13 May 1943 Allied reconnaissance observed 36 fighters and 6 bombers at the airstrip.
• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Buka Airport is an airport serving Buka Island in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea.