Nonstop flight route between Napier, New Zealand and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hawke's Bay Airport (NPE), Napier, New Zealand and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,729 miles (or 4,392 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 Hawke's Bay Airport and Buka 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 Hawke's Bay Airport and Buka 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 Hawke's Bay Airport (NPE):

• Hawke's Bay Airport is Hawke's Bay's main commercial airport serving domestic flights to the main centres of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch as well as smaller centres such as Gisborne, Tauranga, Hamilton and Rotorua.
• Because of Hawke's Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Hawke's Bay 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.
• Hawke's Bay Airport handled 451,128 passengers last year.
• 18 May 2010 a Piper Aztec aircraft made a crash landing at Hawke's Bay Airport during a night flight.
• The furthest airport from Hawke's Bay Airport (NPE) is Ciudad Real Central Airport (CQM), which is nearly antipodal to Hawke's Bay Airport (meaning Hawke's Bay Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ciudad Real Central Airport), and is located 12,375 miles (19,916 kilometers) away in Ciudad Real, Spain.
• The closest airport to Hawke's Bay Airport (NPE) is Taupo AirportTe Papa Waka Rererangi o Taupō (TUO), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) NW of NPE.
• Hawke's Bay Airport (NPE) has 3 runways.
• Hawke's Bay Airport Terminal is a modern well-equipped building, featuring three check-in counters for Air New Zealand and a check-in counter for Sun Air, together with a cafe, seating area and rental car counters.

Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• On 13 May 1943 Allied reconnaissance observed 36 fighters and 6 bombers at the airstrip.
• The furthest airport from Buka Island Airport (BUA) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,781 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
• Because of Buka Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Buka 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 closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• In 2004, the airport experienced some closures due to land disputes.
• It is located at the southern end of the island, near Buka Passage behind the town of Buka, and pre-war Chinatown.
• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.