Nonstop flight route between Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gran Canaria Airport (LPA), Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,750 miles (or 17,301 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 Gran Canaria 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 Gran Canaria 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 Gran Canaria Airport (LPA):

• On 18 February 1988, Binter Canarias announced that the airline's main base was to be established at Gran Canaria.
• Because of Gran Canaria Airport's relatively low elevation of 78 feet, planes can take off or land at Gran Canaria 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 2011 it handled over 10.5 million passengers, an 11.1% increase compared to 2010, and 23,7 million tonnes of cargo.
• The closest airport to Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) is Tenerife North Airport (TFN), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) WNW of LPA.
• In addition to being known as "Gran Canaria Airport", another name for LPA is "Aeropuerto de Gran Canaria".
• The terminal is split into three zones.
• The deployment base of Gando Air Base is the Lanzarote Military Airfield.
• In October 1991, the terminal was enlarged with improved facilities so it could handle more passengers.
• Gran Canaria Airport handled 9,770,253 passengers last year.
• Currently Gran Canaria airport is under renovation.
• The furthest airport from Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) is Norfolk Island Airport (NLK), which is nearly antipodal to Gran Canaria Airport (meaning Gran Canaria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Norfolk Island Airport), and is located 12,221 miles (19,667 kilometers) away in Norfolk Island, Australia.
• Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) has 2 runways.

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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In January 1944, the Allies drove the Japanese out of Buka, and the airfield was used for operations against the Japanese over New Guinea.
• There is one navigational aid, the Buka NDB situated on nearby Sohano Island.