Nonstop flight route between St. Paul, Minnesota, United States and Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between St. Paul Downtown Airport (STP), St. Paul, Minnesota, United States and Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU), Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,875 miles (or 11,064 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 St. Paul Downtown Airport and Fuaʻamotu 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 St. Paul Downtown Airport and Fuaʻamotu International 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 St. Paul Downtown Airport (STP):

• The furthest airport from St. Paul Downtown Airport (STP) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,764 miles (17,324 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• During World War II, Northwest Airlines employed up to 5,000 people at the site, modifying new B-24 Liberator bombers, some of which received the highly classified H2X radar, which proved to be an invaluable tool in the European theater.
• St. Paul Downtown Airport (STP) has 3 runways.
• In addition to being known as "St. Paul Downtown Airport", another name for STP is "Holman Field".
• Because of St. Paul Downtown Airport's relatively low elevation of 705 feet, planes can take off or land at St. Paul Downtown 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 St. Paul Downtown Airport (STP) is Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain Airport (MSP), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) WSW of STP.
• In 2009, a removable flood wall was installed that is only erected when flooding is imminent, leaving the views of the river intact for the rest of the year.

Facts about Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU):

• Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU) is Aguenar – Hadj Bey Akhamok Airport (TMR), which is nearly antipodal to Fuaʻamotu International Airport (meaning Fuaʻamotu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Aguenar – Hadj Bey Akhamok Airport), and is located 12,322 miles (19,830 kilometers) away in Tamanrasset, Algeria.
• It is the strength of the runway rather than the length that restricts operations from Fuaʻamotu.
• Because of Fuaʻamotu International Airport's relatively low elevation of 126 feet, planes can take off or land at Fuaʻamotu 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.
• Some short-haul international flights such as to Fiji or American Samoa also operate from Vavaʻu Island's Lupepauʻu Airport from time to time.
• The closest airport to Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU) is Lifuka Island Airport (HPA), which is located 114 miles (183 kilometers) NNE of TBU.