Nonstop flight route between Salzburg, Austria and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Salzburg Airport (SZG), Salzburg, Austria and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,739 miles (or 14,065 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 Salzburg Airport and Buka Island 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 Salzburg Airport and Buka Island 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 Salzburg Airport (SZG):

• It is located 1.7 NM west-southwest from the centre of Salzburg and 2 km from the Austrian-German border and is jointly owned by the City of Salzburg and The State of Salzburg.
• Salzburg Airport (SZG) currently has only 1 runway.
• This smaller Terminal 2 features nine additional check-in counters and 4 boarding gates as well as a designated area to check-in skiing equipment.
• The furthest airport from Salzburg Airport (SZG) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,905 miles (19,159 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Salzburg Airport", another name for SZG is "Salzburg Airport W. A. Mozart".
• The closest airport to Salzburg Airport (SZG) is Linz Airport (LNZ), which is located 63 miles (101 kilometers) ENE of SZG.
• At the start of World War II, on 1 September 1939, Salzburg Airport was seized and in 1943 the "Luftgaukommando VII" in Munich was put in charge of it.

Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Buka Island Airport (BUA) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,781 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
• There is one navigational aid, the Buka NDB situated on nearby Sohano Island.
• It is located at the southern end of the island, near Buka Passage behind the town of Buka, and pre-war Chinatown.
• In 2004, the airport experienced some closures due to land disputes.
• Today the airport is the primary air portal into Bougainville, and even 60 years after the war, wreckage from the military use of the airfield by the Japanese and Americans is easily found in the area.
• Because of Buka Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Buka Island 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.
• On 26 July, an Imperial Japanese Navy special detachment was sent to inspect Buka Airfield, but considered it unacceptable as a prospect for a speedily constructed major airfield.