Nonstop flight route between Sofia, Bulgaria and Lae, Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SOF to LAE:
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- About this route
- SOF Airport Information
- LAE Airport Information
- Facts about SOF
- Facts about LAE
- Map of Nearest Airports to SOF
- List of Nearest Airports to SOF
- Map of Furthest Airports from SOF
- List of Furthest Airports from SOF
- Map of Nearest Airports to LAE
- List of Nearest Airports to LAE
- Map of Furthest Airports from LAE
- List of Furthest Airports from LAE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF), Sofia, Bulgaria and Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE), Lae, Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,194 miles (or 13,187 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 Lae Nadzab 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 Lae Nadzab Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SOF / LBSF |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Sofia, Bulgaria |
GPS Coordinates: | 42°41'42"N by 23°24'29"E |
Area Served: | Sofia, Bulgaria |
Operator/Owner: | Sofia Airport EAD |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1742 feet (531 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SOF |
More Information: | SOF Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LAE / AYNZ |
Airport Name: | Lae Nadzab Airport |
Location: | Lae, Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea |
GPS Coordinates: | 6°34'10"S by 146°43'33"E |
Operator/Owner: | Papua New Guinea Office of Civil Aviation |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 239 feet (73 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from LAE |
More Information: | LAE Maps & Info |
Facts about Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF):
- Lufthansa Technik Sofia was founded in late 2007 as a joint venture between Lufthansa Technik and the Bulgarian Aviation Group.
- Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) currently has only 1 runway.
- Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna handled 350,432 passengers last year.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna", other names for SOF include "Vrazhdebna Airport" and "Летище София".
- By the late 1970s, the terminal was handling in the region of three million passengers a year, a million of them on domestic routes.
- The closest airport to Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Plovdiv Airport (PDV), which is located 86 miles (138 kilometers) ESE of SOF.
- The construction of the new Sofia tower is related to the reconstruction and development of Sofia Airport and is the natural extension of the development of the airport complex.
- 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.
Facts about Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE):
- Because of Lae Nadzab Airport's relatively low elevation of 239 feet, planes can take off or land at Lae Nadzab 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 closest airport to Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) is Bulolo Airport (BUL), which is located 45 miles (72 kilometers) S of LAE.
- In 1962, the main strip at Nadzab was resealed by the Australian Commonwealth Department of Works and lengthened to make it suitable for Mirage fighters, even though they never materialised.
- The furthest airport from Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,714 miles (18,852 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
- Nazdab is located twenty-seven miles NW of Lae by road 900 yds by an indefinite width.
- Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) currently has only 1 runway.
- Lae Nadzab Airport is a regional airport located at Nadzab 42 kilometres outside of Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea along the Highlands Highway.
- Lae airfield continued to be used by Air Niugini and other third-level airlines until 1987.
- Two parallel runways were built, running roughly east to west.
- In March 1942, the Japanese occupied Lae and Salamaua.