Nonstop flight route between Avarua, Cook Islands and Houston, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rarotonga International Airport (RAR), Avarua, Cook Islands and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Houston, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,553 miles (or 8,936 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 Rarotonga International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental 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 Rarotonga International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental 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 Rarotonga International Airport (RAR):

• Rarotonga International Airport (RAR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Rarotonga International Airport (RAR) is Faya-Largeau Airport (FYT), which is nearly antipodal to Rarotonga International Airport (meaning Rarotonga International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Faya-Largeau Airport), and is located 12,199 miles (19,632 kilometers) away in Faya-Largeau, Chad.
• Air New Zealand Airbus A320 awaiting passengers at Rarotonga International
• The airport first opened in 1975 on the site of a former U.S.
• Because of the close proximity of the runways to the nearby roads, it is possible to get very close to aircraft while they are landing.
• Because of Rarotonga International Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at Rarotonga 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.
• The closest airport to Rarotonga International Airport (RAR) is Mangaia Island Airport (MGS), which is located 131 miles (211 kilometers) ESE of RAR.

Facts about George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH):

• As of 2007, Terminals A and B remain from the original design of the airport.
• The furthest airport from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,981 miles (17,672 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Terminal D opened in 1990 as the International Arrivals Building and was later renamed the Mickey Leland International Arrivals Building.
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport served 40,187,442 passengers in 2011 making the airport the tenth busiest for total passengers in North America.
• Because of George Bush Intercontinental Airport's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at George Bush Intercontinental 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 closest airport to George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of IAH.
• On April 24, 2014, Spirit Airlines announced new services from Houston, to 6 new domestic destinations, including Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Kansas City, New Orleans and San Diego.
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) has 5 runways.
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport handled 40,128,953 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "George Bush Intercontinental Airport", another name for IAH is "Houston-Intercontinental".