Nonstop flight route between Patuxent River, Maryland, United States and Alofi, Niue:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK), Patuxent River, Maryland, United States and Niue International Airport (IUE), Alofi, Niue would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,211 miles (or 11,604 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 Naval Air Station Patuxent River and Niue 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 Naval Air Station Patuxent River and Niue 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 Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK):

• A lack of transportation in Saint Mary's County led the Navy to acquire and revitalize a branchline called theWashington, Brandywine and Point Lookout Railroad from Brandywine to Mechanicsville, Maryland in June 1942 and build an extension south from Mechanicsville to the air station.
• A highway extension to the new air station was required by the project—250,000 tons of material were transported by either truck or water routes during a year of construction.
• The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,728 miles (18,874 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) has 3 runways.
• Because of Naval Air Station Patuxent River's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Naval Air Station Patuxent River 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 closest airport to Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) is St. Mary's County Regional Airport (LTW), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of NHK.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Patuxent River", other names for NHK include "Trapnell Field" and "KNHK - FAA: NHK".
• It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Systems Command, the U.S.
• Since the end of the Cold War, the Pentagon's Base Realignment and Closure measures have migrated research and testing facilities for both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft to NAS Patuxent River from decommissioned bases.
• By 1965, reconnaissance Squadron VQ-4, based at NAS Patuxent River, began using Lockheed C-130s equipped with special communications equipment to perform their around-the-clock Take Charge and Move Out mission.

Facts about Niue International Airport (IUE):

• The closest airport to Niue International Airport (IUE) is Lifuka Island Airport (HPA), which is located 292 miles (469 kilometers) W of IUE.
• The furthest airport from Niue International Airport (IUE) is Arlit Airport (RLT), which is nearly antipodal to Niue International Airport (meaning Niue International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Arlit Airport), and is located 12,258 miles (19,728 kilometers) away in Arlit, Niger.
• Because of Niue International Airport's relatively low elevation of 209 feet, planes can take off or land at Niue 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.
• Niue International Airport (IUE) currently has only 1 runway.