Nonstop flight route between La Paz, Bolivia and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between El Alto International Airport (LPB), La Paz, Bolivia and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,140 miles (or 14,709 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 El Alto 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 El Alto 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 El Alto International Airport (LPB):

• El Alto International Airport is an international airport located 8 mi south-west of La Paz, Bolivia.
• The furthest airport from El Alto International Airport (LPB) is Sanya Phoenix International Airport (SYX), which is nearly antipodal to El Alto International Airport (meaning El Alto International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Sanya Phoenix International Airport), and is located 12,236 miles (19,692 kilometers) away in Sanya, Hainan, China.
• In addition to being known as "El Alto International Airport", another name for LPB is "Aeropuerto Internacional El Alto".
• In 2006, SABSA invested nearly 2.3 million dollars in the reconstruciton of the main terminal.
• El Alto International Airport handled 833,212 passengers last year.
• El Alto International Airport (LPB) has 2 runways.
• Because of El Alto International Airport's high elevation of 13,325 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LPB. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LPB a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to El Alto International Airport (LPB) is Apolo Airport (APB), which is located 118 miles (189 kilometers) N of LPB.
• The airport is located in the city of El Alto and has served since the first half of the 20th century, but was modernized in the late 1960s, when its runway was lengthened and a new passenger terminal with modern facilities was built.

Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• There is one navigational aid, the Buka NDB situated on nearby Sohano Island.
• In 2004, the airport experienced some closures due to land disputes.
• 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 closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• The origins of the airfield begin in 1941 when Australian troops built gun pits around a primitive airstrip in December 1941.
• 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.