Nonstop flight route between Bagram, Afghanistan and Alotau, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bagram Airfield (OAI), Bagram, Afghanistan and Gurney Airport (GUR), Alotau, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,129 miles (or 9,863 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 Bagram Airfield and Gurney 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 Bagram Airfield and Gurney 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 Bagram Airfield (OAI):

• A second runway, 3,500 metres long, was built and completed by the United States in late 2006, at a cost of US$68 million.
• Bagram Airfield (OAI) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2008, several U.S.
• In March 2009, a car bomb exploded somewhere outside Bagram Airfield wounding three civilian workers.
• Reports also indicated that Northern Alliance rocket attacks on Kabul had been staged from Bagram, possibly with Russian-made FROG-7 Rockets.
• The airport at Bagram was originally built in the 1950s, during the Cold War, at a time when the United States and neighboring Soviet Union were busy spreading influence in Afghanistan.
• The furthest airport from Bagram Airfield (OAI) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,894 miles (19,141 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Because of Bagram Airfield's high elevation of 4,895 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at OAI. Combined with a high temperature, this could make OAI a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In March 2010, insurgents attacked an area at the base with rockets.
• In addition to being known as "Bagram Airfield", other names for OAI include "Bagram Airport (Bagram)" and "د بګرام هوائی ډګر".
• The closest airport to Bagram Airfield (OAI) is Kabul International Airport (KBL), which is located 26 miles (43 kilometers) S of OAI.

Facts about Gurney Airport (GUR):

• The closest airport to Gurney Airport (GUR) is Vivigani Airport (VIV), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) N of GUR.
• Gurney Airport is an airport serving Alotau in the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea.
• Gurney Airport (GUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Gurney Airport (GUR) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,966 miles (19,257 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
• The airport is a single runway general aviation facility, however in December, 2008, the PNG Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation, Don Polye announced that aviation company Skyworld had been granted permission to operate direct flights from Cairns, Australia to Gurney.
• The airfield was reopened in early 1966, as a part of the Australian colonial policy of having each of the provincial capitals served by daily flights.
• Because of Gurney Airport's relatively low elevation of 89 feet, planes can take off or land at Gurney 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.