Nonstop flight route between Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga and Hulhulé Island, Maldives:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from TBU to MLE:
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- About this route
- TBU Airport Information
- MLE Airport Information
- Facts about TBU
- Facts about MLE
- Map of Nearest Airports to TBU
- List of Nearest Airports to TBU
- Map of Furthest Airports from TBU
- List of Furthest Airports from TBU
- Map of Nearest Airports to MLE
- List of Nearest Airports to MLE
- Map of Furthest Airports from MLE
- List of Furthest Airports from MLE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU), Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga and Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE), Hulhulé Island, Maldives would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,695 miles (or 12,384 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 Ibrahim Nasir 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 Ibrahim Nasir International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | TBU / NFTF |
| Airport Name: | Fuaʻamotu International Airport |
| Location: | Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga |
| GPS Coordinates: | 21°14'27"S by 175°8'57"W |
| Area Served: | Nukuʻalofa, Tonga |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Civil Aviation |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 126 feet (38 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from TBU |
| More Information: | TBU Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | MLE / VRMM |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Hulhulé Island, Maldives |
| GPS Coordinates: | 4°11'30"N by 73°31'44"E |
| Area Served: | Malé, Maldives |
| Operator/Owner: | Government of Maldives |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 6 feet (2 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from MLE |
| More Information: | MLE Maps & Info |
Facts about Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU):
- The closest airport to Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU) is Lifuka Island Airport (HPA), which is located 114 miles (183 kilometers) NNE of TBU.
- 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.
- Fuaʻamotu was originally built in 1942 by a civilian contractor for the US Army.
- 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.
- Until August 2006, Peau Vavaʻu used a DC-3 on their domestic routes, but this has recently been replaced with a Jetstream 41.
- 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.
Facts about Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE):
- As of March 2013, SriLankan Airlines is the largest foreign carrier into Maldives with 32 flights a week.
- The closest airport to Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE) is Villa International Airport (VAM), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) SW of MLE.
- As the airport started hosting frequent and numerous flights, the need for a corporate entity to manage the airport was realised.
- In addition to being known as "Ibrahim Nasir International Airport", another name for MLE is "އިބްރާހިމް ނާސިރު ބައިނަލްއަޤުވާމީ ވައިގެބަނދަރު".
- Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE) currently has only 1 runway.
- The airport came 5th in a survey conducted by PrivateFly during October and November 2011, to find the world's best airport approaches.
- The furthest airport from Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,289 miles (18,168 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
- On the midnight of 7 December, GMR Handed over the airport to the government of the Maldives and now it's being run by MACL.
- Because of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Ibrahim Nasir 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.
- MACL continued to own the Male' International Airport and manage some of the other airports in Maldives.
