Nonstop flight route between Roanoke, Virginia, United States and Freetown, Sierra Leone:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA), Roanoke, Virginia, United States and Lungi International Airport (FNA), Freetown, Sierra Leone would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,586 miles (or 7,380 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport and Lungi 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport and Lungi 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA):

• Between 1984–1985, the city of Roanoke developed an Airport Master Plan calling for $43.8 million to be spent in the development of a new terminal building, in addition to other improvements throughout the site.
• In the time since the initial commercial service to Roanoke commenced in 1933, various airlines have offered non-stop service to and from Roanoke.
• In addition to being known as "Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport", another name for ROA is "Woodrum Field".
• The furthest airport from Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,559 miles (18,603 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• When facilities reached their maximum capacity, the need for upgrades became necessary for the airport to continue to grow.
• The closest airport to Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport (BCB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) WSW of ROA.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 315,293 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 297,588 enplanements in 2009, and 316,478 in 2010.
• The expansion also resulted in the creation of a tunnel beneath Runway 06/24 along Virginia State Route 118.
• Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) has 2 runways.

Facts about Lungi International Airport (FNA):

• On June 3, 2007, a helicopter flight from Freetown exploded and crashed on landing at Lungi airport, killing all 22 people on board.
• Lungi International Airport handled 167,911 passengers last year.
• On August 11, 2004 at around 2:30 p.m.
• Lungi International Airport (FNA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The terminal building of the airport has a General Waiting Hall, a Departures Wing, and an Arrivals Wing.
• The closest airport to Lungi International Airport (FNA) is Hastings Airport (HGS), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) SSE of FNA.
• Because of Lungi International Airport's relatively low elevation of 84 feet, planes can take off or land at Lungi 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 furthest airport from Lungi International Airport (FNA) is Ulawa Airport (RNA), which is nearly antipodal to Lungi International Airport (meaning Lungi International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ulawa Airport), and is located 12,097 miles (19,468 kilometers) away in Arona, Ulawa Island, Solomon Islands.