Nonstop flight route between Luganville, Vanuatu and Bissau, Guinea-Bissau:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON), Luganville, Vanuatu and Osvaldo Vieira International Airport (OXB), Bissau, Guinea-Bissau would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,121 miles (or 19,507 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 Osvaldo Vieira International 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 Osvaldo Vieira International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between SON and OXB makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Santo-Pekoa International Airport and Osvaldo Vieira International Airport would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between SON and OXB are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Luganville, Vanuatu and Bissau, Guinea-Bissau by taking some connecting flights!

Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between SON and OXB!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON):

• The closest airport to Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON) is Norsup Airport (NUS), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) SSE of SON.
• 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 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.
• Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.

Facts about Osvaldo Vieira International Airport (OXB):

• Because of Osvaldo Vieira International Airport's relatively low elevation of 129 feet, planes can take off or land at Osvaldo Vieira 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 closest airport to Osvaldo Vieira International Airport (OXB) is Bubaque Airport (BQE), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) SSW of OXB.
• The airport had to be closed on June 7, 1998 due to intense fighting in and around Bissau.
• Airlines that have served the airport in the past include Air Afrique, Air France, Aeroflot, Cubana, Air Senegal International, Air Bissau, TACV, TAAG, TAP Portugal, Halcyonair, and Mauritania Airlines International.
• Osvaldo Vieira International Airport (OXB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Osvaldo Vieira International Airport (OXB) is Kirakira Airport (IRA), which is nearly antipodal to Osvaldo Vieira International Airport (meaning Osvaldo Vieira International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kirakira Airport), and is located 12,243 miles (19,703 kilometers) away in Kirakira, Makira Island, Solomon Islands.