Nonstop flight route between Koundara, Guinea and Luganville, Vanuatu:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sambailo Airport (SBI), Koundara, Guinea and Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON), Luganville, Vanuatu would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,230 miles (or 19,683 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 Sambailo Airport and Santo-Pekoa 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 Sambailo Airport and Santo-Pekoa International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between SBI and SON makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Sambailo Airport and Santo-Pekoa International Airport would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between SBI and SON are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Koundara, Guinea and Luganville, Vanuatu by taking some connecting flights!

Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between SBI and SON!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Sambailo Airport (SBI):

• The closest airport to Sambailo Airport (SBI) is Simenti Airport (SMY), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) N of SBI.
• The furthest airport from Sambailo Airport (SBI) is Mota Lava Airport (MTV), which is nearly antipodal to Sambailo Airport (meaning Sambailo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mota Lava Airport), and is located 12,332 miles (19,847 kilometers) away in Mota Lava, Vanuatu.

Facts about Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON):

• The Thirteenth Air Force was based at Pekoa from 13 January 1943 until 20 January 1944 when it moved to Carney Airfield on Guadalcanal.
• Luganville Airfield was used as a civilian airstrip until the early 1970s, however as it was on higher ground it was often clouded in and so it was decided to move all operations to the former Pekoa Airfield/Bomber Field No.2 which became Santo-Pekoa International Airport.
• The closest airport to Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON) is Norsup Airport (NUS), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) SSE of SON.
• Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON) is Ouro Sogui Airport (MAX), which is nearly antipodal to Santo-Pekoa International Airport (meaning Santo-Pekoa International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ouro Sogui Airport), and is located 12,400 miles (19,956 kilometers) away in Matam, Senegal.
• The 7th Naval Construction Battalion arrived on Santo on 11 August 1942 and began construction of more extensive air facilities to support the Guadalcanal Campaign.
• Because of Santo-Pekoa International Airport's relatively low elevation of 184 feet, planes can take off or land at Santo-Pekoa 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.