Nonstop flight route between Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga and Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from TBU to TWU:
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- About this route
- TBU Airport Information
- TWU Airport Information
- Facts about TBU
- Facts about TWU
- 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 TWU
- List of Nearest Airports to TWU
- Map of Furthest Airports from TWU
- List of Furthest Airports from TWU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU), Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga and Tawau Airport (TWU), Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,845 miles (or 7,798 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 Tawau 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 Tawau 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: | TWU / WBKW |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia |
GPS Coordinates: | 4°18'47"N by 118°7'18"E |
Area Served: | Tawau Division, Sabah, East Malaysia |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Malaysia |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 57 feet (17 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from TWU |
More Information: | TWU Maps & Info |
Facts about Fuaʻamotu International Airport (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.
- It is the strength of the runway rather than the length that restricts operations from Fuaʻamotu.
- Some short-haul international flights such as to Fiji or American Samoa also operate from Vavaʻu Island's Lupepauʻu Airport from time to time.
- 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.
- 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 (TBU) has 2 runways.
Facts about Tawau Airport (TWU):
- The closest airport to Tawau Airport (TWU) is Nunukan Airport (NNX), which is located 34 miles (54 kilometers) WSW of TWU.
- In addition to being known as "Tawau Airport", another name for TWU is "Lapangan Terbang Tawau".
- Like other airports in the country, Tawau Airport is under the management of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad.
- An airport police station is located just at the opposite of the main terminal building.
- The furthest airport from Tawau Airport (TWU) is Coari Airport (CIZ), which is nearly antipodal to Tawau Airport (meaning Tawau Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Coari Airport), and is located 12,350 miles (19,875 kilometers) away in Coari, Amazonas, Brazil.
- Because of Tawau Airport's relatively low elevation of 57 feet, planes can take off or land at Tawau 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.
- Tawau Airport handled 1,202,344 passengers last year.
- The airport was subsequently opened to public in December 2001.
- Tawau Airport (TWU) currently has only 1 runway.