Nonstop flight route between Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga and Santa Barbara, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from TBU to SZN:
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- About this route
- TBU Airport Information
- SZN Airport Information
- Facts about TBU
- Facts about SZN
- 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 SZN
- List of Nearest Airports to SZN
- Map of Furthest Airports from SZN
- List of Furthest Airports from SZN
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU), Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga and Santa Cruz Island Airport (SZN), Santa Barbara, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,270 miles (or 8,481 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 Santa Cruz Island 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 Santa Cruz Island 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: | SZN / KSZN |
Airport Name: | Santa Cruz Island Airport |
Location: | Santa Barbara, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°3'38"N by 119°54'54"W |
Operator/Owner: | The Nature Conservancy |
Airport Type: | Private |
Elevation: | 50 feet (15 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SZN |
More Information: | SZN Maps & Info |
Facts about Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU):
- It is the strength of the runway rather than the length that restricts operations from Fuaʻamotu.
- Until August 2006, Peau Vavaʻu used a DC-3 on their domestic routes, but this has recently been replaced with a Jetstream 41.
- Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU) has 2 runways.
- 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.
- 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.
- Peau Vavaʻu operate a Convair 580 subleased from Reef Air leased from New Zealand's Air Chathams to Haʻapai and Vavaʻu, and a Twin Otter to Niuafoʻou and Niuatoputapu.
- 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 Santa Cruz Island Airport (SZN):
- The furthest airport from Santa Cruz Island Airport (SZN) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,512 miles (18,527 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- The closest airport to Santa Cruz Island Airport (SZN) is Santa Barbara Airport (SBA), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) N of SZN.
- Santa Cruz Island Airport (SZN) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Santa Cruz Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 50 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Cruz Island 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.