Nonstop flight route between Newport News, Virginia, United States and Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (PHF), Newport News, Virginia, United States and Goma Airport (GOM), Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,152 miles (or 11,510 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 Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport and Goma 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 Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport and Goma 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 Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (PHF):

• The turn around began with the hiring of Charles J.
• When the original control tower was shut down in July 2007 with the opening of the state of the art 147 ft tall new tower, it had been the oldest operating control tower on the east coast with continuous service for 55 years.
• In 1946, Virginia's General Assembly passed legislation creating the Peninsula Airport Commission to determine a location for and establish a new commercial airport to serve the cities of Newport News, Hampton, and Warwick.
• The closest airport to Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (PHF) is Langley Field (LFI), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of PHF.
• In addition to being known as "Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport", another name for PHF is "Patrick Henry Field".
• Because of Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport's relatively low elevation of 43 feet, planes can take off or land at Newport News/Williamsburg International 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.
• Newport News–Williamsburg is also the first airport in the nation to undergo a sustainability project, to incorporate green technology in every facet of operations.
• In January 2011, Delta Air Lines provided two additional daily flights to Atlanta using 142-seat MD-88 aircraft, for a total of four.
• Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (PHF) has 2 runways.
• When the United States Congress deregulated the airlines in 1978, many airlines serving Patrick Henry Airport consolidated their southeast Virginia services at other area airports.
• The furthest airport from Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (PHF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,749 miles (18,908 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Concourse A opened in May 2010 as the airport's second concourse.

Facts about Goma Airport (GOM):

• Goma International Airport is an airport serving Goma, a city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• The closest airport to Goma Airport (GOM) is Gisenyi Airport (GYI), which is located only 2 miles (2 kilometers) ESE of GOM.
• Initially built with a paved 3 km runway and a large terminal and apron, the airport has not recovered from the 2002 eruption of the volcano Nyiragongo, 14 km to the north.
• On 15 April 2008, a Hewa Bora Airways DC-9 overshot the runway during an aborted takeoff and crashed into the marketplace immediately to the south of the airport, killing over 40 people.
• The furthest airport from Goma Airport (GOM) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,981 miles (19,282 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• At 17:55 local time on 4 March 2013, a Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation Fokker 50 from Lodja crashed short of landing in heavy rain, into a residential area.
• Goma Airport (GOM) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Goma Airport's high elevation of 5,089 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GOM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GOM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.