Nonstop flight route between Tau, American Samoa and Roanoke, Virginia, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tau Airport (TAV), Tau, American Samoa and Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA), Roanoke, Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,786 miles (or 10,920 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 Tau Airport and Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional 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 Tau Airport and Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional 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 Tau Airport (TAV):

• Tau Airport is a privately owned, private-use airport located one mile southeast of the village of Ta‘ū on the island of Ta‘ū in American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States.
• Tau Airport (TAV) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Tau Airport (TAV) is Fitiuta Airport (FTI), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) E of TAV.
• In addition to being known as "Tau Airport", other names for TAV include "none" and "HI36".
• Tau Airport previously covered an area of 4 acres which contains one runway measuring 2,170 x 100 ft.
• Because of Tau Airport's relatively low elevation of 185 feet, planes can take off or land at Tau 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 Tau Airport (TAV) is Zinder Airport (ZND), which is nearly antipodal to Tau Airport (meaning Tau Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Zinder Airport), and is located 12,331 miles (19,845 kilometers) away in Zinder, Niger.

Facts about Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA):

• Shortly after it departed from Asheville Regional Airport in Asheville, North Carolina, on July 19, 1967, Piedmont Airlines Flight 22 collided with a twin-engine Cessna 310 on approach to Asheville.
• Originally 5,900 feet in length, an expansion to lengthen Runway 6/24 was originally envisioned in the 1970s.
• The furthest airport from Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,559 miles (18,603 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Between 1984–1985, the city of Roanoke developed an Airport Master Plan calling for $43.8 million to be spent in the development of a new terminal building, in addition to other improvements throughout the site.
• In addition to being known as "Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport", another name for ROA is "Woodrum Field".
• During the period of Piedmont’s dominance, several regional airlines established service to Roanoke only to later pull out.
• The current terminal building was designed by the Charlotte based architectural firm of Odell Associates and was built to serve as a replacement for the 1953 terminal, later demolished in 2005.
• Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport (BCB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) WSW of ROA.
• Piedmont service originally commenced on April 16, 1948, with only a pair of flights, which carried 42 passengers.
• In the period following the Piedmont-USAir merger, Roanoke has seen various carriers enter and exit the local market.