Nonstop flight route between Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia and Koumac, New Caledonia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX), Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia and Koumac Airport (KOC), Koumac, New Caledonia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,768 miles (or 14,111 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 Alula Aba Nega Airport and Koumac 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 Alula Aba Nega Airport and Koumac 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 Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX):

• On 22 August 1982, Douglas DC-3 ET-AHP of Ethiopian Airlines was damaged beyond repair in a take-off accident.
• The closest airport to Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX) is Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport (AXU), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) NW of MQX.
• Alula Aba Nega Airport handled 112,060 passengers last year.
• Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX) is Fangatau Airport (FGU), which is nearly antipodal to Alula Aba Nega Airport (meaning Alula Aba Nega Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fangatau Airport), and is located 12,272 miles (19,750 kilometers) away in Fangatau, French Polynesia.
• Because of Alula Aba Nega Airport's high elevation of 7,406 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MQX. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MQX a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Alula Aba Nega Airport", another name for MQX is "አሉላ አባ ነጋ ዓለም አቀፍ የአየር ማረፊያ".
• This airport was built in the late 1990s to replace an older one located 7 km from Mek'ele.

Facts about Koumac Airport (KOC):

• The closest airport to Koumac Airport (KOC) is Koné Airport (KNQ), which is located 51 miles (83 kilometers) SE of KOC.
• Because of Koumac Airport's relatively low elevation of 138 feet, planes can take off or land at Koumac 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 furthest airport from Koumac Airport (KOC) is Nouadhibou International Airport (NDB), which is nearly antipodal to Koumac Airport (meaning Koumac Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Nouadhibou International Airport), and is located 12,349 miles (19,874 kilometers) away in Nouadhibou, Mauritania.
• Koumac Airport (KOC) currently has only 1 runway.