Nonstop flight route between Luganville, Vanuatu and Gulkana, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SON to GKN:
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- About this route
- SON Airport Information
- GKN Airport Information
- Facts about SON
- Facts about GKN
- Map of Nearest Airports to SON
- List of Nearest Airports to SON
- Map of Furthest Airports from SON
- List of Furthest Airports from SON
- Map of Nearest Airports to GKN
- List of Nearest Airports to GKN
- Map of Furthest Airports from GKN
- List of Furthest Airports from GKN
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON), Luganville, Vanuatu and Gulkana Airport (GKN), Gulkana, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,946 miles (or 9,569 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 Gulkana 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 Gulkana Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SON / NVSS |
Airport Name: | Santo-Pekoa International Airport |
Location: | Luganville, Vanuatu |
GPS Coordinates: | 15°30'20"S by 167°13'17"E |
Operator/Owner: | Airports Vanuatu Limited |
Elevation: | 184 feet (56 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SON |
More Information: | SON Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GKN / PAGK |
Airport Name: | Gulkana Airport |
Location: | Gulkana, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 62°9'18"N by 145°27'15"W |
Area Served: | Gulkana, Alaska |
Operator/Owner: | State of Alaska DOT&PF |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1586 feet (483 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GKN |
More Information: | GKN Maps & Info |
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.
- As the war moved further north, Pekoa Airfield was closed on 8 February 1945 and all traffic routed to Palikulo Bay Airfield.
- Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON) currently has only 1 runway.
- The Thirteenth Air Force was based at Pekoa from 13 January 1943 until 20 January 1944 when it moved to Carney Airfield on Guadalcanal.
- The closest airport to Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON) is Norsup Airport (NUS), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) SSE of SON.
- 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.
Facts about Gulkana Airport (GKN):
- The closest airport to Gulkana Airport (GKN) is Copper Center Airport (CZC), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) SSE of GKN.
- Gulkana Airport (GKN) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Gulkana Airport (GKN) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,451 miles (16,820 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
- Gulkana Airport is a state owned, public use airport located four nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Gulkana, in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area of the U.S.