Nonstop flight route between Avarua, Cook Islands and St. Louis, Missouri, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rarotonga International Airport (RAR), Avarua, Cook Islands and Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL), St. Louis, Missouri, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,104 miles (or 9,823 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 Lambert–St. Louis International 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 Lambert–St. Louis International 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.
• Air New Zealand Airbus A320 awaiting passengers at Rarotonga International
• 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.
• An $8.5m reconstruction project commenced in 2009 to revamp and expand the existing terminal facilities.
• The closest airport to Rarotonga International Airport (RAR) is Mangaia Island Airport (MGS), which is located 131 miles (211 kilometers) ESE of RAR.
• 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.

Facts about Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL):

• Lambert again grew in importance for TWA after the airline declared bankruptcy in 1993 and moved its headquarters to St.
• The April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows TWA with 44 weekday departures.
• Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL) has 4 runways.
• On July 16, 2003, AA announced it was significantly reducing its Lambert hub effective November 1, 2003, cutting it from 417 daily flights to 207, effective November 1, 2003.
• The closest airport to Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL) is St. Louis Downtown Airport (CPS), which is located only 16 miles (27 kilometers) SE of STL.
• The furthest airport from Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,986 miles (17,681 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In the late 1920s, Lambert Field became the first airport with an air traffic control system—albeit one that communicated with pilots via waving flags.
• Because of Lambert–St. Louis International Airport's relatively low elevation of 605 feet, planes can take off or land at Lambert–St. Louis 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 airport grew from a balloon launching base, Kinloch Field, part of the 1890s Kinloch Park suburban development.
• As of May 2012, the airport is on a significant upswing, with traffic up by about 14%.