Nonstop flight route between Luganville, Vanuatu and Saint Petersburg, Russia (formerly Leningrad between 1924 and 1991):

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON), Luganville, Vanuatu and Pulkovo Airport (LED), Saint Petersburg, Russia (formerly Leningrad between 1924 and 1991) would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,694 miles (or 13,991 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 Pulkovo 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 Pulkovo 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON) is Norsup Airport (NUS), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) SSE of SON.
• 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.

Facts about Pulkovo Airport (LED):

• ICAO category 1 standards were implemented in 1965, making way for international operations.
• In addition to being known as "Pulkovo Airport", another name for LED is "Аэропо́рт Пу́лково".
• During the Second World War the airport was the frontline in the Nazi Siege of Leningrad.
• Originally it was named Shosseynaya Airport, by the name of a nearby railroad station.
• As of 2013, Pulkovo is the 3rd busiest in Russia after Moscow's Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo airports.
• The closest airport to Pulkovo Airport (LED) is Rzhevka Airport (RVH), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) NE of LED.
• Pulkovo Airport handled 12,854,366 passengers last year.
• For a more comprehensive list, see Aviation Safety Network Entry for LED.
• In May 2008, the City of Saint Petersburg opened a 1.5 bn USD tender for a 30-year concession to operate Pulkovo Airport.
• Pulkovo Airport (LED) has 2 runways.
• Because of Pulkovo Airport's relatively low elevation of 79 feet, planes can take off or land at Pulkovo 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 furthest airport from Pulkovo Airport (LED) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,868 miles (17,491 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.