Nonstop flight route between Lukla, Nepal and El Centro, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from LUA to NJK:
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- About this route
- LUA Airport Information
- NJK Airport Information
- Facts about LUA
- Facts about NJK
- 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 NJK
- List of Nearest Airports to NJK
- Map of Furthest Airports from NJK
- List of Furthest Airports from NJK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA), Lukla, Nepal and Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK), El Centro, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,004 miles (or 12,882 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 Naval Air Facility El Centro, 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 Naval Air Facility El Centro. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
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: | NJK / KNJK |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | El Centro, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 32°49'45"N by 115°40'18"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Navy |
Airport Type: | Naval Air Facility |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from NJK |
More Information: | NJK Maps & Info |
Facts about Tenzing-Hillary Airport (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.
- In addition to being known as "Tenzing-Hillary Airport", another name for LUA is "तेन्जिङ हिलारी विमानस्थल".
- 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 (LUA) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- Lukla flights or flights to Tenzing-Hillary airport start in the early morning to mid day.
Facts about Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK):
- The facility has two operating runways.
- Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,532 miles (18,558 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- The closest airport to Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK) is Imperial County Airport (IPL), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) E of NJK.
- In addition to being known as "Naval Air Facility El Centro", another name for NJK is "KNJK - FAA: NJK".
- The addition of the Display and Debriefing Subsystem, known as DDS, expanded the role of NAF El Centro to include air combat training by utilizing remote television, acoustical and laser scoring systems.
- Apart from "touch and go" landings and take-offs, aircrews use the many ranges at NAF El Centro to develop their skills.