Nonstop flight route between Mataram (near Praya), Lombok, Indonesia and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lombok International Airport (LOP), Mataram (near Praya), Lombok, Indonesia and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,642 miles (or 4,251 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 Lombok International 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 Lombok International 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 Lombok International Airport (LOP):

• The airport site is at Tanak Awu, in Kabupaten Lombok Tengah, Lombok, Indonesia, south west of Mataram the provincial capital of Nusa Tenggara Barat and a few kilometers south west of the small regional city of Praya.
• Lombok International Airport handled 167,692 passengers last year.
• Lombok International Airport (LOP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Lombok International Airport (LOP) is San Tomé Airport (SOM), which is nearly antipodal to Lombok International Airport (meaning Lombok International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from San Tomé Airport), and is located 12,405 miles (19,964 kilometers) away in San Tomé, Venezuela.
• In addition to being known as "Lombok International Airport", another name for LOP is "Bandar Udara Internasional Lombok".
• Because of Lombok International Airport's relatively low elevation of 319 feet, planes can take off or land at Lombok 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 closest airport to Lombok International Airport (LOP) is Selaparang Airport (AMI), which is located only 18 miles (30 kilometers) NW of LOP.
• The first aircraft landing was a Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737-800NG marking the commencement of operations on Saturday, 1 October 2011.
• The airport is served by road links to the city of Mataram which is approximately 40 km to the northwest of the airport.

Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• 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.
• The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• It is located at the southern end of the island, near Buka Passage behind the town of Buka, and pre-war Chinatown.
• 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.
• 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.
• In January 1944, the Allies drove the Japanese out of Buka, and the airfield was used for operations against the Japanese over New Guinea.
• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.