Nonstop flight route between Missoula, Montana, United States and Luganville, Vanuatu:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Missoula International Airport (MSO), Missoula, Montana, United States and Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON), Luganville, Vanuatu would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,480 miles (or 10,429 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 Missoula International Airport and Santo-Pekoa 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 Missoula International Airport and Santo-Pekoa 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 Missoula International Airport (MSO):

• The airport is building a new 150-foot tall control tower, replacing one that opened in 1961.
• The furthest airport from Missoula International Airport (MSO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,601 miles (17,061 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The airport covers 2,700 acres at an elevation of 3,206 feet.
• Missoula International Airport handled 594,057 passengers last year.
• Missoula International Airport (MSO) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Missoula International Airport", another name for MSO is "Johnson-Bell Field".
• The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 288,071 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 281,428 in 2009 and 289,875 in 2010.
• The closest airport to Missoula International Airport (MSO) is Glacier Park International Airport (FCA), which is located 97 miles (156 kilometers) N of MSO.

Facts about Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON):

• Luganville Airfield was used as a civilian airstrip until the early 1970s, however as it was on higher ground it was often clouded in and so it was decided to move all operations to the former Pekoa Airfield/Bomber Field No.2 which became Santo-Pekoa International Airport.
• The closest airport to Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON) is Norsup Airport (NUS), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) SSE of SON.
• Because of Santo-Pekoa International Airport's relatively low elevation of 184 feet, planes can take off or land at Santo-Pekoa 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.
• Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON) is Ouro Sogui Airport (MAX), which is nearly antipodal to Santo-Pekoa International Airport (meaning Santo-Pekoa International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ouro Sogui Airport), and is located 12,400 miles (19,956 kilometers) away in Matam, Senegal.
• As the war moved further north, Pekoa Airfield was closed on 8 February 1945 and all traffic routed to Palikulo Bay Airfield.
• The 7th Naval Construction Battalion arrived on Santo on 11 August 1942 and began construction of more extensive air facilities to support the Guadalcanal Campaign.