Nonstop flight route between Plovdiv, Bulgaria and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Plovdiv Airport (PDV), Plovdiv, Bulgaria and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,460 miles (or 13,615 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 Plovdiv 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 Plovdiv 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 Plovdiv Airport (PDV):

• In addition to being known as "Plovdiv Airport", other names for PDV include "Krumovo Airport" and "Летище Пловдив".
• Plovdiv airport serves the nearby ski resorts of Bansko, Pamporovo and Borovets, and therefore serves mainly charter flights, during the winter season from the end of December until March.
• Plovdiv Airport handled 8,752 passengers last year.
• Plovdiv Airport (PDV) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Plovdiv Airport (PDV) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,355 miles (18,273 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The beginning of civil aviation at Plovdiv came with the first test flight between Sofia-Plovdiv-Yambol and Burgas early in 1928.
• The closest airport to Plovdiv Airport (PDV) is Haskovo Malevo Airport (HKV), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) E of PDV.
• Because of Plovdiv Airport's relatively low elevation of 597 feet, planes can take off or land at Plovdiv 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.
• Domestic scheduled flights were terminated in 1980, but winter charter flights continue to increase which again leads to a relocation of ground facilities as technical buildings, power supply facilities, air traffic control tower and administrative facilities.

Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• 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.
• There is one navigational aid, the Buka NDB situated on nearby Sohano Island.
• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• 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.