Nonstop flight route between Sofia, Bulgaria and Canton Island, Kiribati:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF), Sofia, Bulgaria and Canton Island Airport (CIS), Canton Island, Kiribati would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,525 miles (or 15,329 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 Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna and Canton Island 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 Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna and Canton Island 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 Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF):

• According to the plan a new Sofia airport terminal was built to the east of the old terminal and a second runway was constructed alongside the existing one.
• The new tower is an extremely important facility for both ATC and the airport because it is related to the safety and security of flights, explained by the transport department.
• On 19 August 2011 in the presence of Ivaylo Moskovski, minister of transport, information technology and communications, the BULATSA director general Diyan Dinev, Glavbolgarstroy AD chief executive director Pavel Kalistratov and Glavbolgarstroy AD executive director and management board member Nina Stoyanova signed the design execution and construction contract between BULATSA and Glavbolgarstroy AD for the new control tower at Sofia Airport.
• In addition to being known as "Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna", other names for SOF include "Vrazhdebna Airport" and "Летище София".
• The Sofia Airport Centre, a premiere corporate office, hospitality and logistics centre in Bulgaria is being constructed in the vicinity.
• The furthest airport from Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,437 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Design and construction of a new control tower was discussed in 2006 but this project appeared to be in abeyance by 2008.
• The closest airport to Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Plovdiv Airport (PDV), which is located 86 miles (138 kilometers) ESE of SOF.
• Two de-icing platforms are constructed to allow centralised de-icing procedures in winter.
• Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) currently has only 1 runway.
• Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna handled 350,432 passengers last year.

Facts about Canton Island Airport (CIS):

• The furthest airport from Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Malabo International Airport (SSG), which is nearly antipodal to Canton Island Airport (meaning Canton Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Malabo International Airport), and is located 12,363 miles (19,896 kilometers) away in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
• The closest airport to Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is located 741 miles (1,193 kilometers) WSW of CIS.
• Canton Island Airport is an airport located on Kanton Island, in the Phoenix Islands, in the Republic of Kiribati.
• Canton Island Airport (CIS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Canton Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Canton Island 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.
• Kanton Island airport continued to see use during the 1950s as a trans-Pacific stopover for DC-4, DC-6B and DC-7C aircraft for Pan American, British Commonwealth Pacific, Qantas and Canadian Pacific Airlines, but with the advent of long-range jet aircraft during the 1960s, their need for the island faded, and the airfield and its associated facilities were ultimately abandoned in 1965.
• The Pan American pioneered central air route, Hawaii to the Philippines and Asia by way of stations at Midway, Wake and Guam passed through the Japanese controlled islands with serious concerns about its safety growing in 1941 even as the Army had reinforced the Philippines with a flight of B-17 bombers by way of Midway, Wake and Port Moresby in September.