Nonstop flight route between Oak Harbor, Washington, United States and Harare, Zimbabwe:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NAS Whidbey Island (NUW), Oak Harbor, Washington, United States and Harare International Airport (HRE), Harare, Zimbabwe would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,870 miles (or 15,885 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 NAS Whidbey Island and Harare 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 NAS Whidbey Island and Harare 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 NAS Whidbey Island (NUW):

• Because of NAS Whidbey Island's relatively low elevation of 47 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS Whidbey Island 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.
• NAS Whidbey Island (NUW) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from NAS Whidbey Island (NUW) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,730 miles (17,268 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• In all, there are 17 active duty squadrons and 2 Ready Reserve squadrons currently based at NAS Whidbey Island.
• The other section of the air station is known as the Seaplane Base.
• In addition to being known as "NAS Whidbey Island", another name for NUW is "Ault Field".
• On September 21, 1942, the air station's first Commanding Officer, CAPT Cyril Thomas Simard, read the orders and the watch was set.
• During the Korean War, patrol plane activity was stepped up again with several Naval Air Reserve units being called up and redesignated as active duty squadrons.
• The closest airport to NAS Whidbey Island (NUW) is A.J. Eisenberg Airport (ODW), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) S of NUW.

Facts about Harare International Airport (HRE):

• Because of Harare International Airport's high elevation of 4,887 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at HRE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make HRE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In 1949 the government purchased Kentucky and Adair farms east of Salisbury for the construction of the new airport.
• The new Salisbury Airport was finally commissioned on 1 July 1956.
• The closest airport to Harare International Airport (HRE) is Mutare Airport (UTA), which is located 125 miles (201 kilometers) SE of HRE.
• The furthest airport from Harare International Airport (HRE) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Harare International Airport (meaning Harare International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,017 miles (19,339 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• Civil aviation regulatory authority, the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe has its head office on level 3 of the new International Terminal.
• Also in 1949 the Minister of Mines and Transport set up an Airport Panel to co-ordinate the construction of the airport.
• In 1951 the government announced that the airport would be developed as a joint user aerodrome for both civil aviation and the Southern Rhodesian Air Force.
• Harare International Airport handled 612,208 passengers last year.
• Harare International Airport (HRE) currently has only 1 runway.