Nonstop flight route between Point Lay, Alaska, United States and Mendi, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Point Lay LRRS Airport (PIZ), Point Lay, Alaska, United States and Mendi Airport (MDU), Mendi, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,801 miles (or 9,336 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 Point Lay LRRS Airport and Mendi 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 Point Lay LRRS Airport and Mendi 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 Point Lay LRRS Airport (PIZ):

• The airport was built in 1957 to support the Distant Early Warning Line Radar station at Point Lay.
• Point Lay LRRS Airport is a public and military use airport owned by the United States Government and located in Point Lay, in the North Slope Borough of the U.S.
• Point Lay LRRS Airport (PIZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Point Lay LRRS Airport (PIZ) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,387 miles (16,716 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• The LRR site was inactivated in 1989 due to soil erosion & budget concerns.
• The closest airport to Point Lay LRRS Airport (PIZ) is Wainwright Airport (AIN), which is located 94 miles (152 kilometers) NE of PIZ.
• Because of Point Lay LRRS Airport's relatively low elevation of 25 feet, planes can take off or land at Point Lay LRRS 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.

Facts about Mendi Airport (MDU):

• The closest airport to Mendi Airport (MDU) is Moro Airport (MXH), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) WSW of MDU.
• Mendi Airport (MDU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Mendi Airport (MDU) is Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR), which is located 11,735 miles (18,885 kilometers) away in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
• Because of Mendi Airport's high elevation of 5,680 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MDU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MDU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.