Nonstop flight route between Payson, Arizona, United States and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Payson Airport (PJB), Payson, Arizona, United States and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,656 miles (or 10,712 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 Payson 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 Payson 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 Payson Airport (PJB):

• Payson Airport (PJB) currently has only 1 runway.
• Payson Airport is a public airport located one mile west of the central business district of Payson, a town in Gila County, Arizona, United States.
• For the period ending 27, April 2011, the airport had 41,245 operations at an average of 113 a day.
• In addition to being known as "Payson Airport", another name for PJB is "PAN".
• Because of Payson Airport's high elevation of 5,157 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at PJB. Combined with a high temperature, this could make PJB a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Payson Airport (PJB) is Sedona Airport (SDX), which is located 48 miles (78 kilometers) NNW of PJB.
• The furthest airport from Payson Airport (PJB) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,384 miles (18,320 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• In January 1944, the Allies drove the Japanese out of Buka, and the airfield was used for operations against the Japanese over New Guinea.
• The origins of the airfield begin in 1941 when Australian troops built gun pits around a primitive airstrip in December 1941.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.