Nonstop flight route between Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga and Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU), Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga and Pope Field (POB), Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,384 miles (or 11,883 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 Pope 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 Pope 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):

• The closest airport to Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU) is Lifuka Island Airport (HPA), which is located 114 miles (183 kilometers) NNE of TBU.
• Fuaʻamotu International Airport is an international airport in Tonga.
• There is no public bus service to the airport, but several hostels and hotels in Nukuʻalofa meet flights and taxis are available.
• 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.
• Until August 2006, Peau Vavaʻu used a DC-3 on their domestic routes, but this has recently been replaced with a Jetstream 41.
• It is the strength of the runway rather than the length that restricts operations from Fuaʻamotu.
• Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU) has 2 runways.
• Fuaʻamotu was originally built in 1942 by a civilian contractor for the US Army.

Facts about Pope Field (POB):

• The closest airport to Pope Field (POB) is Simmons Army Airfield (FBG), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) ESE of POB.
• The 317th TAW flew the C-130E aircraft.
• Headquarters, Ninth Air Force, was located at Pope in August 1950.
• The furthest airport from Pope Field (POB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,630 miles (18,716 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Pope AFB is named after First Lieutenant Harley Halbert Pope who was killed on January 7, 1919, when the Curtiss JN-4 Jenny he was flying crashed into the Cape Fear River.
• In April 1992, A/OA-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft were transferred to the 75th Fighter Squadron from the 353d FS / 354th FW at Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, South Carolina prior to the wing's inactivation and the base's closure in January 1993.