Nonstop flight route between Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia and Glendale, Arizona, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT), Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia and Luke Air Force BaseLuke Field (LUF), Glendale, Arizona, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,299 miles (or 6,918 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 Fa'a'ā International Airport and Luke Air Force BaseLuke 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 Fa'a'ā International Airport and Luke Air Force BaseLuke 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 Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT):

• Many buses come into the airport from Pape'ete, the main bus being the Fa'a'ā airport shuttle which goes along Tahiti's west coast freeway, which passes in front of the main terminal.
• There are five terminals within one main building.
• In addition to being known as "Fa'a'ā International Airport", another name for PPT is "Aéroport International Tahiti Fa'a'ā".
• The furthest airport from Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT) is El Debba Airport (EDB), which is nearly antipodal to Fa'a'ā International Airport (meaning Fa'a'ā International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from El Debba Airport), and is located 12,387 miles (19,935 kilometers) away in El Debba (Al Dabbah), Sudan.
• Because of limited level terrain, rather than leveling large stretches of sloping agricultural land, the airport is built primarily on reclaimed land on the coral reef just off-shore.
• Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT) is Moorea Airport (MOZ), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) WNW of PPT.
• Because of Fa'a'ā International Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Fa'a'ā 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.

Facts about Luke Air Force BaseLuke Field (LUF):

• In addition to being known as "Luke Air Force BaseLuke Field", another name for LUF is "Luke AFB".
• The furthest airport from Luke Air Force BaseLuke Field (LUF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,450 miles (18,426 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Although continually modified during the war years, the course of advanced flight training at Luke averaged about 10 weeks and included both flight training and ground school.
• In addition to flying and maintaining the F-16, Luke airmen also deploy to support on-going operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and to combatant commanders in other locations around the world.
• The 3600th FTW became the dedicated training organization for both USAF and NATO pilots in the F-84.
• The closest airport to Luke Air Force BaseLuke Field (LUF) is Phoenix Goodyear Airport (GYR), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) S of LUF.
• The host unit, the 56th Fighter Wing, is tasked to train F-16 fighter pilots and maintainers, while deploying mission ready warfighters.