Nonstop flight route between Luqa, Malta and Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malta International Airport (MLA), Luqa, Malta and Goma Airport (GOM), Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,762 miles (or 4,445 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 Malta International Airport and Goma 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 Malta International Airport and Goma 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 Malta International Airport (MLA):

• This refurbishment was not enough as it still lacked certain essential facilities.
• The airport is located 5 km southwest of the capital, Valletta.
• The closest airport to Malta International Airport (MLA) is Xewkija / Gozo Heliport (GZM), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NW of MLA.
• Malta International Airport handled 405,200 passengers last year.
• Because of Malta International Airport's relatively low elevation of 300 feet, planes can take off or land at Malta 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 airport car parking has considerably increased during 2009.
• Malta International Airport (MLA) has 2 runways.
• The first civil airfield was constructed at Ta' Qali, followed by others at Ħal Far and Luqa.
• The furthest airport from Malta International Airport (MLA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,639 miles (18,731 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The increase in passenger handling and aircraft movements necessitated the construction of a civil air terminal.
• Arriva Malta buses serve the airport.
• The airport serves as the main hub for Air Malta and a base for Ryanair.
• The head office of Air Malta is at Level 2 of the Skyparks Business Centre.
• In addition to being known as "Malta International Airport", other names for MLA include "Luqa Airport" and "Valletta Airport".
• There was a small increase in the volume of traffic that passed through Malta International Airport in 2011.

Facts about Goma Airport (GOM):

• Because of Goma Airport's high elevation of 5,089 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GOM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GOM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Initially built with a paved 3 km runway and a large terminal and apron, the airport has not recovered from the 2002 eruption of the volcano Nyiragongo, 14 km to the north.
• The furthest airport from Goma Airport (GOM) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,981 miles (19,282 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• Goma Airport (GOM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Goma Airport (GOM) is Gisenyi Airport (GYI), which is located only 2 miles (2 kilometers) ESE of GOM.
• At 17:55 local time on 4 March 2013, a Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation Fokker 50 from Lodja crashed short of landing in heavy rain, into a residential area.