Nonstop flight route between Paro, Bhutan and Alexandria, Louisiana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Paro International Airport (PBH), Paro, Bhutan and Esler Field (ESF), Alexandria, Louisiana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,372 miles (or 13,474 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 Paro International Airport and Esler Field, 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 Paro International Airport and Esler Field. 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 Paro International Airport (PBH):

• Because of Paro International Airport's high elevation of 7,300 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at PBH. Combined with a high temperature, this could make PBH a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• With surrounding peaks as high as 18,000 ft it is considered one of the world's most challenging airports, and as of October 2009, only eight pilots in the world are certified to land at the airport.
• Druk Air is the national flag carrier airline of Bhutan and has its base at Paro Airport.
• Paro International Airport (PBH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Paro International Airport (PBH) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,281 miles (18,155 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• The second international airport project, which was planned for construction at the Gelephu site, was downgraded to a domestic airport project in October 2008.
• The closest airport to Paro International Airport (PBH) is Cooch Behar Airport (COH), which is located 65 miles (104 kilometers) SSE of PBH.
• In 2002, the airport handled 37,200 passengers and 91,000 tonnes of cargo.

Facts about Esler Field (ESF):

• The first unit assigned for training at Esler was the 12th Bombardment Group, arriving for B-25 Mitchell training on 21 February 1942.
• About 60 percent of the airport's operations are military and the rest are civilian.
• While Alexandria International Airport is central Louisiana's primary airport and the leader of aviation services in the area, Esler is the area's secondary airport.
• Esler Field (ESF) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Esler Field", another name for ESF is "Esler Regional AirportEsler Army Airfield".
• Because of Esler Field's relatively low elevation of 112 feet, planes can take off or land at Esler 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 the early '90s, Esler Regional Airport became lifeless and quiet with an uncertain future after airport services including all scheduled passenger airline flights for central Louisiana were moved to the England Industrial Airpark and Community, the location of the former England Air Force Base which is now known as Alexandria International Airport.
• In late 1943, Esler was again reassigned within Third Air Force, to the I Tactical Air Division, to become a close air support training field.
• The closest airport to Esler Field (ESF) is Alexandria International Airport (AEX), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) WSW of ESF.
• The furthest airport from Esler Field (ESF) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,988 miles (17,683 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• In the 1970s, the airport had scheduled passenger airline service provided by several air carriers including Delta Air Lines which operated mainline jet aircraft from Esler.