Nonstop flight route between Lukla, Nepal and Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA), Lukla, Nepal and Muir Army Airfield (MUI), Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,609 miles (or 12,246 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 Tenzing-Hillary Airport and Muir Army Airfield, 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 Tenzing-Hillary Airport and Muir Army Airfield. 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 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.
• The closest airport to Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA) is Phaplu Airport (PPL), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) SW of LUA.
• 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.
• Lukla flights or flights to Tenzing-Hillary airport start in the early morning to mid day.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 Muir Army Airfield (MUI):

• Muir Army Airfield currently accommodates 75 helicopters and three fixed-wing aircraft, conducting about 70,000 take-offs and landings annually, making it the second busiest helicopter base in the world.
• Muir Army Airfield (MUI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Muir Army Airfield (MUI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,654 miles (18,755 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Muir Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 488 feet, planes can take off or land at Muir Army Airfield 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.
• Muir Army Airfield was established as an airstrip in the 1930s and was originally the central parade ground and emergency landing field of the Fort Indiantown Gap military reservation.
• The closest airport to Muir Army Airfield (MUI) is Harrisburg International Airport (MDT), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) SSW of MUI.