Nonstop flight route between Luganville, Vanuatu and Bitburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON), Luganville, Vanuatu and Bitburg Airport (BBJ), Bitburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,822 miles (or 15,807 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 Santo-Pekoa International Airport and Bitburg 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 Santo-Pekoa International Airport and Bitburg 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 Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON):

• 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.
• Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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.
• As the war moved further north, Pekoa Airfield was closed on 8 February 1945 and all traffic routed to Palikulo Bay Airfield.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON) is Norsup Airport (NUS), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) SSE of SON.

Facts about Bitburg Airport (BBJ):

• In addition to being known as "Bitburg Airport", another name for BBJ is "Flugplatz Bitburg".
• The closest airport to Bitburg Airport (BBJ) is Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) ENE of BBJ.
• The USAF departed for the second time in September 1997, and Bitburg Airport was returned to the civil aircraft which now call it home.
• On September 15, 2008, the Ministry of Transport of Rhineland-Palatinate granted the airport contractor landing rights for aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of more than 14 tonnes, and the use of IFR traffic rules upon arrival and departure.
• Bitburg Airport (BBJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Bitburg Airport (BBJ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,990 miles (19,295 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Prior to its current civilian usage, Bitburg Air Base was a front-line NATO base during the Cold War.