Nonstop flight route between Lukla, Nepal and Hulhulé Island, Maldives:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from LUA to MLE:
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- About this route
- LUA Airport Information
- MLE Airport Information
- Facts about LUA
- Facts about MLE
- Map of Nearest Airports to LUA
- List of Nearest Airports to LUA
- Map of Furthest Airports from LUA
- List of Furthest Airports from LUA
- Map of Nearest Airports to MLE
- List of Nearest Airports to MLE
- Map of Furthest Airports from MLE
- List of Furthest Airports from MLE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA), Lukla, Nepal and Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE), Hulhulé Island, Maldives would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,841 miles (or 2,964 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 relatively short distance between Tenzing-Hillary Airport and Ibrahim Nasir International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LUA / VNLK |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Lukla, Nepal |
GPS Coordinates: | 27°41'14"N by 86°43'54"E |
Area Served: | Lukla, Nepal |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 9383 feet (2,860 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from LUA |
More Information: | LUA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MLE / VRMM |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Hulhulé Island, Maldives |
GPS Coordinates: | 4°11'30"N by 73°31'44"E |
Area Served: | Malé, Maldives |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Maldives |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 6 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MLE |
More Information: | MLE Maps & Info |
Facts about Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA):
- The furthest airport from Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,446 miles (18,421 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
- Tenzing-Hillary Airport, also known as Lukla Airport, is a small airport in the town of Lukla, in Khumbu, Solukhumbu district, Sagarmatha zone, eastern Nepal.
- The closest airport to Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA) is Phaplu Airport (PPL), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) SW of LUA.
- Because of Tenzing-Hillary Airport's high elevation of 9,383 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LUA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LUA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The airport's paved asphalt runway is only accessible to helicopters and small, fixed-wing, short-takeoff-and-landing aircraft such as the De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, Dornier Do 228, and Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter.
- Aircraft can only use runway 06 for landings and runway 24 for takeoffs.There is no prospect of a successful go-around on short final due to the terrain.
- In January 2008 the airport was renamed in honor of Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest and also to mark their efforts in the construction of this airport.
- The airport is popular because Lukla is the place where most people start the climb to Mount Everest Base Camp.
- Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Tenzing-Hillary Airport", another name for LUA is "तेन्जिङ हिलारी विमानस्थल".
Facts about Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE):
- In addition to being known as "Ibrahim Nasir International Airport", another name for MLE is "އިބްރާހިމް ނާސިރު ބައިނަލްއަޤުވާމީ ވައިގެބަނދަރު".
- As the airport started hosting frequent and numerous flights, the need for a corporate entity to manage the airport was realised.
- As of March 2013, SriLankan Airlines is the largest foreign carrier into Maldives with 32 flights a week.
- The furthest airport from Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,289 miles (18,168 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
- The closest airport to Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE) is Villa International Airport (VAM), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) SW of MLE.
- The airport came 5th in a survey conducted by PrivateFly during October and November 2011, to find the world's best airport approaches.
- When the tourism industry in the Maldives began in 1972, the country was in need of an international standard airport to transport tourists to the resort islands.
- Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Ibrahim Nasir 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.
- In 2010, Government of Maldives appointed IFC to run the bidding process for the privatisation of the airport.
- Today, Ibrahim Nasir International is well connected with major airports around the world, mostly serving as the main gateway into the Maldives for tourists.