Nonstop flight route between Pensacola, Florida, United States and Lifuka, Ha'apai, Tonga:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA), Pensacola, Florida, United States and Lifuka Island Airport (HPA), Lifuka, Ha'apai, Tonga would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,730 miles (or 10,832 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 PensacolaForrest Sherman Field and Lifuka Island 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 PensacolaForrest Sherman Field and Lifuka Island 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 PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA):

• Construction began in April 1826, and the Pensacola Navy Yard, also known as the Warrington Navy Yard, became one of the best equipped naval stations in the country.
• The National Naval Aviation Museum, the Pensacola Naval Air Station Historic District, the National Park Service-administered Fort Barrancas and its associated Advance Redoubt, and the Pensacola Lighthouse and Museum are all located at NAS Pensacola, as well as Barrancas National Cemetery.
• Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA) has 3 runways.
• In the years following World War I, aviation training slowed down.
• Because of Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field's relatively low elevation of 28 feet, planes can take off or land at Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field 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.
• In 1781, as an ally of the American rebels during the American Revolutionary War, the Spanish captured Pensacola.
• The furthest airport from Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,154 miles (17,951 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The closest airport to Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA) is NOLF Saufley Field (NUN), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NNW of NPA.
• The Navy Department awakened to the possibilities of naval aviation through the efforts of Captain Washington Irving Chambers.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field", another name for NPA is "KNPA - FAA: NPA".
• In 1825, the US designated this area for the Pensacola Navy Yard was designated and Congress appropriated $6,000 for a lighthouse.
• Pilot training requirements shifted upward to meet the demands for the Vietnam War, which occupied much of the 1960s and 1970s.
• In August 1940, a larger auxiliary base, Saufley Field, named for LT R.C.

Facts about Lifuka Island Airport (HPA):

• Because of Lifuka Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 31 feet, planes can take off or land at Lifuka 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.
• Lifuka Island Airport (HPA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Lifuka Island Airport (HPA) is Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU), which is located 114 miles (183 kilometers) SSW of HPA.
• The furthest airport from Lifuka Island Airport (HPA) is In Guezzam Airport (INF), which is nearly antipodal to Lifuka Island Airport (meaning Lifuka Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from In Guezzam Airport), and is located 12,421 miles (19,989 kilometers) away in In Guezzam, Algeria.
• In addition to being known as "Lifuka Island Airport", another name for HPA is "Salote Pilolevu Airport".