Nonstop flight route between Richland, Washington, United States and Lae, Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RLD to LAE:
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- About this route
- RLD Airport Information
- LAE Airport Information
- Facts about RLD
- Facts about LAE
- Map of Nearest Airports to RLD
- List of Nearest Airports to RLD
- Map of Furthest Airports from RLD
- List of Furthest Airports from RLD
- Map of Nearest Airports to LAE
- List of Nearest Airports to LAE
- Map of Furthest Airports from LAE
- List of Furthest Airports from LAE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Richland Airport (RLD), Richland, Washington, United States and Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE), Lae, Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,735 miles (or 10,840 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 Richland Airport and Lae Nadzab 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 Richland Airport and Lae Nadzab Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RLD / KRLD |
Airport Name: | Richland Airport |
Location: | Richland, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 46°18'20"N by 119°18'15"W |
Area Served: | Richland, Washington |
Operator/Owner: | Port of Benton |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 394 feet (120 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from RLD |
More Information: | RLD Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LAE / AYNZ |
Airport Name: | Lae Nadzab Airport |
Location: | Lae, Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea |
GPS Coordinates: | 6°34'10"S by 146°43'33"E |
Operator/Owner: | Papua New Guinea Office of Civil Aviation |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 239 feet (73 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from LAE |
More Information: | LAE Maps & Info |
Facts about Richland Airport (RLD):
- The closest airport to Richland Airport (RLD) is Tri-Cities Airport (PSC), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) ESE of RLD.
- For the 12-month period ending July 31, 2007, the airport had 29,000 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 79 per day.
- The furthest airport from Richland Airport (RLD) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,783 miles (17,353 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- Because of Richland Airport's relatively low elevation of 394 feet, planes can take off or land at Richland 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.
- Richland Airport (RLD) has 2 runways.
Facts about Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE):
- Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) currently has only 1 runway.
- In about 1910 the Gabmatsung/Gabmazung Lutheran mission station was established at Nadzab.
- The closest airport to Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) is Bulolo Airport (BUL), which is located 45 miles (72 kilometers) S of LAE.
- In March 1942, the Japanese occupied Lae and Salamaua.
- In 1962, the main strip at Nadzab was resealed by the Australian Commonwealth Department of Works and lengthened to make it suitable for Mirage fighters, even though they never materialised.
- Lae Nadzab Airport is a regional airport located at Nadzab 42 kilometres outside of Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea along the Highlands Highway.
- The furthest airport from Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,714 miles (18,852 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
- After Lae was liberated, the United States Army built Nadzab airport and developed it into a massive airbase complex.
- Because of Lae Nadzab Airport's relatively low elevation of 239 feet, planes can take off or land at Lae Nadzab 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.