Nonstop flight route between Safford, Arizona, United States and Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Safford Regional Airport (SAD), Safford, Arizona, United States and Tawau Airport (TWU), Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,394 miles (or 13,509 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 Safford Regional Airport and Tawau 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 Safford Regional Airport and Tawau 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 Safford Regional Airport (SAD):

• The closest airport to Safford Regional Airport (SAD) is Greenlee County Airport (CFT), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) ENE of SAD.
• Safford Regional Airport (SAD) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Safford Regional Airport (SAD) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,434 miles (18,401 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The airport covers 630 acres at an elevation of 3,179 feet.

Facts about Tawau Airport (TWU):

• The furthest airport from Tawau Airport (TWU) is Coari Airport (CIZ), which is nearly antipodal to Tawau Airport (meaning Tawau Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Coari Airport), and is located 12,350 miles (19,875 kilometers) away in Coari, Amazonas, Brazil.
• The terminal is a one and a half stories building, which consists of two aerobridges, and its large apron can accommodate eight aircraft at one time.
• Tawau Airport is an airport located 15 nautical miles north east of Tawau, a town in the state of Sabah in Malaysia.
• The closest airport to Tawau Airport (TWU) is Nunukan Airport (NNX), which is located 34 miles (54 kilometers) WSW of TWU.
• Because of Tawau Airport's relatively low elevation of 57 feet, planes can take off or land at Tawau 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.
• Tawau Airport handled 1,202,344 passengers last year.
• However on 15 September 1995, a Malaysian Airlines Fokker 50 from Kota Kinabalu touched down 500 m before the end of the 2,200 m long runway.
• Tawau Airport (TWU) currently has only 1 runway.
• Taxi coupon or town shuttle bus ticket to Tawau or Semporna can be bought at the respective counters inside the terminal.
• In addition to being known as "Tawau Airport", another name for TWU is "Lapangan Terbang Tawau".