Nonstop flight route between Mitchell, South Dakota, United States and Pago Pago, American Samoa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mitchell Municipal Airport (MHE), Mitchell, South Dakota, United States and Pago Pago International Airport (PPG), Pago Pago, American Samoa would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,068 miles (or 9,766 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 Mitchell Municipal Airport and Pago Pago International 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 Mitchell Municipal Airport and Pago Pago International 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 Mitchell Municipal Airport (MHE):

• The closest airport to Mitchell Municipal Airport (MHE) is Huron Regional Airport (HON), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) NNW of MHE.
• In addition to being known as "Mitchell Municipal Airport", another name for MHE is "Mitchell Army Airfield".
• Mitchell Municipal Airport (MHE) has 2 runways.
• From July to late September, 1943, the 700th Bomb Squadron of the 445th Bomb Group conducted their advanced training at Mitchell Army Air Field.
• Mitchell Municipal Airport is a city owned, public use airport located three nautical miles north of the central business district of Mitchell, a city in Davison County, South Dakota, United States.
• The furthest airport from Mitchell Municipal Airport (MHE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,544 miles (16,968 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Pago Pago International Airport (PPG):

• Pago Pago International Airport (PPG) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Pago Pago International Airport (PPG) is Zinder Airport (ZND), which is nearly antipodal to Pago Pago International Airport (meaning Pago Pago International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Zinder Airport), and is located 12,396 miles (19,950 kilometers) away in Zinder, Niger.
• To facilitate aircraft with large payload requirements and long distance flights, runway 05/23 was expanded in early 2001 from an original runway length of 9,000 feet to the current 10,000 feet.
• The original runway alignments were 09/27 x 500 feet ) and 14/32 x 200 feet ) and were constructed of compact coral with capability to handle 65 fighter aircraft and 12 medium to heavy bombers.
• Pago Pago International Airport, also known as Tafuna Airport, is a public airport located 7 miles southwest of the central business district of Pago Pago, in the village and plains of Tafuna on the island of Tutuila in American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States.
• Hawaiian Airlines is the only major airline serving Pago Pago International Airport.
• South Pacific jet services between Sydney, Auckland, Honolulu and Papeete were first offered by Pan American World Airways in 1964 using Boeing 707 aircraft.
• Because of Pago Pago International Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Pago Pago 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.
• The American Samoan government is looking into legal means to overcome current US cabotage rules that forbid foreign carriers from entering and serving the Pago Pago – Honolulu or Pago Pago – Los Angeles routes.
• The closest airport to Pago Pago International Airport (PPG) is Ofu Airport (OFU), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) E of PPG.
• The Departure and Arrival terminal also went through a major expansion in the mid-1970s where buildings and space was doubled in size to handle more passengers.