Nonstop flight route between St. Louis, Missouri, United States and Apia, Samoa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL), St. Louis, Missouri, United States and Fagali'i Airport (FGI), Apia, Samoa would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,362 miles (or 10,239 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 Lambert–St. Louis International Airport and Fagali'i 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 Lambert–St. Louis International Airport and Fagali'i 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 Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL):

• On July 16, 2003, AA announced it was significantly reducing its Lambert hub effective November 1, 2003, cutting it from 417 daily flights to 207, effective November 1, 2003.
• As of May 2012, the airport is on a significant upswing, with traffic up by about 14%.
• The furthest airport from Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,986 miles (17,681 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• However, TWA faced increasing problems as overall airline demand softened in response to a softening overall economy.
• Despite the entry of Southwest Airlines in the market, the TWA buyout of Ozark and subsequent increase in the number of nonstop cities served, the total number of passengers using Lambert held steady from 1985 through 1993, ranging between 19 million and 20 million passengers per year throughout the period.
• In 1982, Trans World Airlines moved its hub from Kansas City International Airport.
• Because of Lambert–St. Louis International Airport's relatively low elevation of 605 feet, planes can take off or land at Lambert–St. Louis 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.
• In the late 1920s, Lambert Field became the first airport with an air traffic control system—albeit one that communicated with pilots via waving flags.
• The April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows TWA with 44 weekday departures.
• By September 2002, Lambert's passenger traffic had declined by 16.9% from before the terrorist attacks a year earlier, which was the 8th biggest percentage drop of the major US airports.
• The closest airport to Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL) is St. Louis Downtown Airport (CPS), which is located only 16 miles (27 kilometers) SE of STL.
• Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL) has 4 runways.

Facts about Fagali'i Airport (FGI):

• The furthest airport from Fagali'i Airport (FGI) is Zinder Airport (ZND), which is nearly antipodal to Fagali'i Airport (meaning Fagali'i Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Zinder Airport), and is located 12,388 miles (19,936 kilometers) away in Zinder, Niger.
• Rumours have since re-surfaced within the aviation community regarding the possibility of having the airstrip re-opened as the country's flag carrier has since downsized to 2 Turboprop DHC 6 Twin Otter aircraft and single BN2 Britten-Norman Islander.
• On 1 July 2009, Polynesian Airlines reopened Fagali'i airport and resumed a service that included international flights to Pago Pago, American Samoa.
• The closest airport to Fagali'i Airport (FGI) is Faleolo International Airport (APW), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) W of FGI.
• The proposal to re-open the airport was controversial and attracted criticism both for the safety and environmental issues with the airport's configuration and for the potential burden on local communities should the scheme fail.
• Fagali'i Airport (FGI) currently has only 1 runway.