Nonstop flight route between Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga and Lydd, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU), Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga and Lydd International Airport (LYX), Lydd, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,373 miles (or 16,693 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 Fuaʻamotu International Airport and Lydd 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 Fuaʻamotu International Airport and Lydd 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 Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU):

• Until August 2006, Peau Vavaʻu used a DC-3 on their domestic routes, but this has recently been replaced with a Jetstream 41.
• Fuaʻamotu was originally built in 1942 by a civilian contractor for the US Army.
• On April 28, 2006, the Tongan Government ended their controversial one-airline policy that had been in favour of Peau Vavaʻu.
• Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU) is Lifuka Island Airport (HPA), which is located 114 miles (183 kilometers) NNE of TBU.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Lydd International Airport (LYX):

• The closest airport to Lydd International Airport (LYX) is Lympne Airport (LYM), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) NNE of LYX.
• Lydd International Airport (LYX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Lydd International Airport handled 2,696 passengers last year.
• Lydd Airport, opened in 1956, was the first airport to be built in the UK following the end of the Second World War.
• The furthest airport from Lydd International Airport (LYX) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,928 miles (19,197 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Lydd International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Lydd 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 July 2011 CityJet conducted flight tests with the Avro RJ and Fokker 50 to see if the runway needs to be extended for them to begin operating flights.