Nonstop flight route between Maota, Samoa and Canton Island, Kiribati:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Maota (Salelologa) Airport (MXS), Maota, Samoa and Canton Island Airport (CIS), Canton Island, Kiribati would travel a Great Circle distance of 759 miles (or 1,222 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 relatively short distance between Maota (Salelologa) Airport and Canton Island Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Maota (Salelologa) Airport (MXS):

• The furthest airport from Maota (Salelologa) Airport (MXS) is Maradi Airport (MFQ), which is nearly antipodal to Maota (Salelologa) Airport (meaning Maota (Salelologa) Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maradi Airport), and is located 12,391 miles (19,942 kilometers) away in Maradi, Niger.
• The closest airport to Maota (Salelologa) Airport (MXS) is Faleolo International Airport (APW), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) ESE of MXS.

Facts about Canton Island Airport (CIS):

• The closest airport to Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is located 741 miles (1,193 kilometers) WSW of CIS.
• The furthest airport from Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Malabo International Airport (SSG), which is nearly antipodal to Canton Island Airport (meaning Canton Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Malabo International Airport), and is located 12,363 miles (19,896 kilometers) away in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
• The political status of the island was uncertain at first, with American and British settlers occupying two separate camps on the island.
• Because of Canton Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Canton Island 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 Pan American pioneered central air route, Hawaii to the Philippines and Asia by way of stations at Midway, Wake and Guam passed through the Japanese controlled islands with serious concerns about its safety growing in 1941 even as the Army had reinforced the Philippines with a flight of B-17 bombers by way of Midway, Wake and Port Moresby in September.
• Canton Island Airport (CIS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport was used as a military airfield during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces in 1942 and 1943, initially being used by the 40th Ferrying Squadron, Ferrying Command as an airfield for moving combat aircraft to forward combat units.
• Kanton Island airport continued to see use during the 1950s as a trans-Pacific stopover for DC-4, DC-6B and DC-7C aircraft for Pan American, British Commonwealth Pacific, Qantas and Canadian Pacific Airlines, but with the advent of long-range jet aircraft during the 1960s, their need for the island faded, and the airfield and its associated facilities were ultimately abandoned in 1965.
• Though Kanton Island was never physically invaded by Japanese forces, the airfield was bombarded on 1 November 1943 by the Japanese submarine I-36.