Nonstop flight route between Norfolk Island, Australia and Sofia, Bulgaria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Norfolk Island Airport (NLK), Norfolk Island, Australia and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF), Sofia, Bulgaria would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,259 miles (or 16,511 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 Norfolk Island Airport and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna, 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 Norfolk Island Airport and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna. 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 Norfolk Island Airport (NLK):

• Norfolk Island Airport handled 57,758 passengers last year.
• The airstrip was built during World War II as a defensive measure to counter feared Japanese operations in the South Pacific.
• Norfolk Island Airport (NLK) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Norfolk Island Airport (NLK) is Nouméa Magenta Airport (GEA), which is located 478 miles (769 kilometers) NNW of NLK.
• In addition to being known as "Norfolk Island Airport", another name for NLK is "YSNF".
• Initially used for bomber patrols and for a transport service to Bougainville Island, the airfield was never used as a major base and became a stopover for aircraft travelling between Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand and the Solomon Islands.
• These distances are within the range of many light aircraft when fitted with long range tanks, while the direct distance without using Norfolk Island as a stepping stone, is usually beyond their capabilities.
• Because of Norfolk Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 371 feet, planes can take off or land at Norfolk 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.
• Norfolk Island is an important transit and refueling point for light aircraft flying between Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands.
• The furthest airport from Norfolk Island Airport (NLK) is Tan Tan Airport (TTA), which is nearly antipodal to Norfolk Island Airport (meaning Norfolk Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tan Tan Airport), and is located 12,369 miles (19,905 kilometers) away in Tan-Tan, Morocco.
• Norfolk Island Airport is the only airport on Norfolk Island, an external territory of Australia.

Facts about Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF):

• In mid-2012 the airport will have one of the most modern and most beautiful airport towers in Europe.
• The furthest airport from Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,437 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Total cost of the project was planned at 200 million euros.
• According to the plan a new Sofia airport terminal was built to the east of the old terminal and a second runway was constructed alongside the existing one.
• Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna handled 350,432 passengers last year.
• In 2004 Strabag demanded an additional 6 million euro due to rising steel prices.
• In addition to being known as "Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna", other names for SOF include "Vrazhdebna Airport" and "Летище София".
• The closest airport to Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Plovdiv Airport (PDV), which is located 86 miles (138 kilometers) ESE of SOF.
• Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) currently has only 1 runway.