Nonstop flight route between Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga and Pensacola, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU), Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga and Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA), Pensacola, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,826 miles (or 10,985 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 Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field, 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 Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field. 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.
• 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 International Airport (TBU) has 2 runways.
• Under Tongan law, Fuaʻamotu International Airport is closed on Sundays — only to be opened in distress, after the minister's approval.
• 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 closest airport to Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU) is Lifuka Island Airport (HPA), which is located 114 miles (183 kilometers) NNE of TBU.

Facts about Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA):

• With World War II having started, NAS Pensacola once again became the hub of air training activities.
• The furthest airport from Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,154 miles (17,951 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• In 1781, as an ally of the American rebels during the American Revolutionary War, the Spanish captured Pensacola.
• Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA) is NOLF Saufley Field (NUN), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NNW of NPA.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field", another name for NPA is "KNPA - FAA: NPA".
• In May 2006, Navy construction crews unearthed a Spanish ship during an archeological excavation.
• In the years following World War I, aviation training slowed down.
• The air station also hosts the Naval Education and Training Command and the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute, which provides training for all naval flight surgeons, aviation physiologists, and aviation experimental psychologists.
• Pensacola was taken by General Andrew Jackson in November 1814 during the War of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States.
• Because of Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field's relatively low elevation of 28 feet, planes can take off or land at Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field 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.