Nonstop flight route between Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Newcastle Airport (NTL), Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,900 miles (or 3,058 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 Newcastle Airport and Buka 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 Newcastle Airport (NTL):

• On 2 October 1994, a Rockwell Commander 690B operating for Seaview Air with flight number CD111 departed Newcastle Airport for Lord Howe Island.
• The closest airport to Newcastle Airport (NTL) is Maitland Airport (MTL), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) WNW of NTL.
• Newcastle Airport is surrounded by Class C Airspace and has a control tower which is manned Monday to Friday, between the hours of 0800 – 2200.
• Newcastle airport briefly offered International flights to New Zealand, these services operated by Freedom Air commenced in 2001 using Boeing 737s.
• Commercial operations began at Williamtown in 1947 when the Australian Government opened the existing Royal Australian Air Force airport to civil aviation.
• The furthest airport from Newcastle Airport (NTL) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Newcastle Airport (meaning Newcastle Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,102 miles (19,476 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• Newcastle Airport (NTL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Newcastle Airport's relatively low elevation of 31 feet, planes can take off or land at Newcastle 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.
• In addition to being known as "Newcastle Airport", other names for NTL include "RAAF Base Williamtown" and "Williamtown Airport".
• Newcastle Airport handled 1,211,302 passengers last year.

Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• The origins of the airfield begin in 1941 when Australian troops built gun pits around a primitive airstrip in December 1941.
• Today the airport is the primary air portal into Bougainville, and even 60 years after the war, wreckage from the military use of the airfield by the Japanese and Americans is easily found in the area.
• 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.
• On 13 May 1943 Allied reconnaissance observed 36 fighters and 6 bombers at the airstrip.
• 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.
• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.