Nonstop flight route between Spokane, Washington, United States and Funafuti, Tuvalu:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA), Spokane, Washington, United States and Funafuti International Airport (FUN), Funafuti, Tuvalu would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,455 miles (or 8,779 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 Fairchild Air Force Base and Funafuti 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 Fairchild Air Force Base and Funafuti 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 Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA):

• As military operations in Vietnam escalated in the mid-1960s, the demand for air refueling increased.
• Fairchild AFB is named in honor of General Muir S.
• In addition to being known as "Fairchild Air Force Base", another name for SKA is "Fairchild AFB".
• Fairchild AFB was established in 1942 as the Spokane Air Depot.
• Following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, a total of 560 base personnel deployed to Desert Shield and Desert Storm from August 1990 to March 1991.
• To provide air defense of the base, U.S.
• Over 5,100 active duty Air Force, Air National Guard, and tenant organization military and civilian employees work on Fairchild, making the base the largest employer in Eastern Washington.
• The furthest airport from Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,665 miles (17,163 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Spokane International Airport (GEG), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) E of SKA.
• On 20 June 1994, Dean Mellberg, an ex-Air Force member, entered the base hospital and shot and killed four people and wounded 23 others.

Facts about Funafuti International Airport (FUN):

• The closest airport to Funafuti International Airport (FUN) is Arorae Island Airport (AIS), which is located 440 miles (708 kilometers) NNW of FUN.
• The furthest airport from Funafuti International Airport (FUN) is Tamale Airport (TML), which is nearly antipodal to Funafuti International Airport (meaning Funafuti International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tamale Airport), and is located 12,365 miles (19,900 kilometers) away in Tamale, Northern Region, Ghana.
• The deterioration of the runway's sub-base is a consequence of its low elevation and the hydrologic dynamics in the sub-surface of the atoll.
• Because of Funafuti International Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Funafuti 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 is at an elevation of 9 feet above mean sea level.
• By the middle of 1944, as the fighting moved further north toward Japan, the Americans began to withdraw.
• Funafuti International Airport (FUN) currently has only 1 runway.