Nonstop flight route between Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia and Alula, Somalia:
Departure Airport:
(4°18'47"N by 118°7'18"E)
Arrival Airport:
(11°57'30"N by 50°44'53"E)
Distance from TWU to ALU:
4,628.57 miles (7,448.95 km)
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Jump to:
- About this route
- TWU Airport Information
- ALU Airport Information
- Facts about TWU
- Facts about ALU
- Map of Nearest Airports to TWU
- List of Nearest Airports to TWU
- Map of Furthest Airports from TWU
- List of Furthest Airports from TWU
- Map of Nearest Airports to ALU
- List of Nearest Airports to ALU
- Map of Furthest Airports from ALU
- List of Furthest Airports from ALU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Tawau Airport (TWU), Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia and Alula Airport (ALU), Alula, Somalia would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,629 miles (or 7,449 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 Tawau Airport and Alula 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 Tawau Airport and Alula Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | ALU / HCMA |
| Airport Name: | Alula Airport |
| Location: | Alula, Somalia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 11°57'30"N by 50°44'53"E |
| Area Served: | Alula, Somalia |
| Operator/Owner: | Puntland Ministry for Civil Aviation and Airports |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 6 feet (2 meters) |
| View all routes: | Routes from ALU |
| More Information: | ALU Maps & Info |
Facts about Tawau Airport (TWU):
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Tawau Airport", another name for TWU is "Lapangan Terbang Tawau".
- Tawau Airport handled 1,202,344 passengers last year.
- 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.
- Tawau Airport is located at Balung, 3 km further in from the Pan Borneo Highway.
- Tawau Airport (TWU) currently has only 1 runway.
- During the early days, Tawau airport was located on Jalan Utara, literally known as Northern road about 2 mi away from Tawau.
- In 2008, 768,967 passengers went through the airport with 10,546 aircraft movements.
- The closest airport to Tawau Airport (TWU) is Nunukan Airport (NNX), which is located 34 miles (54 kilometers) WSW of TWU.
Facts about Alula Airport (ALU):
- The closest airport to Alula Airport (ALU) is Candala Airport (CXN), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WSW of ALU.
- The furthest airport from Alula Airport (ALU) is Pukarua Airport (PUK), which is located 11,759 miles (18,924 kilometers) away in Pukarua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia.
- Because of Alula Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Alula 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.
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 33.64 miles (54.15 km) WSW | Nunukan Airport (NNX) | Nunukan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia |     |
| 2 | 34.02 miles (54.74 km) ENE | Semporna Airport (SMM) | Sabah, Malaysia | |
| 3 | 51.59 miles (83.02 km) NNE | Lahad Datu Airport (LDU) | Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia | |
| 4 | 61.79 miles (99.45 km) SSW | Bunyu Airport (BYQ) | Bunyu, Kalimantan (Borneo), Indonesia | |
| 5 | 78.22 miles (125.88 km) SSW | Juwata Airport (TRK) | Tarakan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia | |
| 6 | 109.86 miles (176.80 km) N | Sandakan Airport (SDK) | Sandakan, Malaysia | |
| 7 | 122.59 miles (197.28 km) ENE | Sanga-Sanga Airport (TWT) | Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, Philippines | |
| 8 | 152.76 miles (245.84 km) WNW | Lapangan Terbang Keningau Keningau Airport (KGU) | Keningau, Sabah, Malaysia | |
| 9 | 156.51 miles (251.88 km) SSW | Kalimarau Airport (BEJ) | Tanjung Redeb, Berau, East Kalimantan, Indonesia | |
| 10 | 165.69 miles (266.65 km) W | Long Pasia Airport (GSA) | Long Pasia, Sabah, Malaysia | |
| 11 | 170.89 miles (275.02 km) W | Juvai Semaring Airport (LBW) | Long Bawan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia | |
| 12 | 173.94 miles (279.93 km) W | Ba'kelalan Airport (BKM) | Bakalalan, Sarawak, Malaysia | |
| 13 | 175.08 miles (281.77 km) W | Long Semado Airport (LSM) | Long Semado, Sarawak, Malaysia | |
| 14 | 181.29 miles (291.75 km) NW | Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) | Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia | |
| 15 | 181.79 miles (292.56 km) W | Long Sukang Airport (LSU) | Long Sukang, Sarawak, Malaysia | |
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 12,349.57 miles (19,874.66 km) E | Coari Airport (CIZ) | Coari, Amazonas, Brazil | |
| 2 | 12,283.46 miles (19,768.26 km) WSW | Ponta Pelada Airport (PLL) | Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil | |
| 3 | 12,283.16 miles (19,767.78 km) SW | Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomes–Manaus International Airport (MAO) | Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil | |
| 4 | 12,230.20 miles (19,682.56 km) ESE | Tefé Airport (TFF) | Tefé, Amazonas, Brazil | |
| 5 | 12,195.60 miles (19,626.87 km) SSE | Barcelos Airport (BAZ) | Barcelos, Amazonas, Brazil | |
| 6 | 12,152.07 miles (19,556.81 km) SE | Lábrea Airport (LBR) | Lábrea, Amazonas, Brazil | |
| 7 | 12,142.11 miles (19,540.78 km) WSW | Maués Airport (MBZ) | Maués, Amazonas, Brazil | |
| 8 | 12,102.52 miles (19,477.07 km) SSE | Porto Velho-Governador Jorge Teixeira de Oliveira International Airport (Belmonte) (PVH) | Porto Velho, Brazil | |
| 9 | 12,089.04 miles (19,455.37 km) E | Carauari Airport (CAF) | Carauari, Amazonas, Brazil | |
| 10 | 12,066.75 miles (19,419.50 km) WSW | Júlio Belém Airport (PIN) | Parintins, Amazonas, Brazil | |
| 11 | 12,031.82 miles (19,363.29 km) W | Itaituba Airport (ITB) | Itaituba, Pará, Brazil | |
| 12 | 12,011.23 miles (19,330.15 km) WSW | Porto de Trombetas Airport (TMT) | Porto Trombetas, Oriximiná, Pará, Brazil | |
| 13 | 11,992.40 miles (19,299.84 km) SSW | Aripuanã Airport (AIR) | Aripuanã, Mato Grosso, Brazil | |
| 14 | 11,983.73 miles (19,285.90 km) S | José Coleto Airport (JPR) | Ji-Paraná, Rondônia, Brazil | |
| 15 | 11,962.13 miles (19,251.14 km) SSW | Juruena Airport (JRN) | Juruena, Mato Grosso, Brazil | |
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 65.24 miles (104.99 km) WSW | Candala Airport (CXN) | Candala, Somalia | |
| 2 | 118.02 miles (189.93 km) WSW | Bender Qassim International Airport (BSA) | Boosaaso, Somalia | |
| 3 | 208.39 miles (335.37 km) NNW | Riyan Airport (MKX) | Mukalla, Yemen | |
| 4 | 245.16 miles (394.55 km) WSW | Erigavo Airport (ERA) | Erigavo, Somalia | |
| 5 | 306.49 miles (493.25 km) NNW | Sayun AirportSeiyun Airport (GXF) | Seiyun, Yemen | |
| 6 | 307.79 miles (495.35 km) NNE | Al Ghaydha Airport (AAY) | Al Ghaydah, Yemen | |
| 7 | 318.83 miles (513.10 km) NW | Ataq Airport (AXK) | Ataq, Yemen | |
| 8 | 390.09 miles (627.79 km) WSW | Burao Airport (BUO) | Burao, Somalia | |
| 9 | 390.22 miles (628.00 km) WNW | Beihan Airport (BHN) | Beihan, Yemen | |
| 10 | 390.62 miles (628.63 km) W | Aden International Airport (ADE) | Aden, Yemen | |
| 11 | 408.28 miles (657.06 km) WSW | Berbera Airport (BBO) | Berbera, Somalia | |
| 12 | 416.18 miles (669.77 km) NNE | Salalah Airport (SLL) | Salalah, Oman | |
| 13 | 422.34 miles (679.69 km) SSW | Abdullahi Yusuf International Airport (GLK) | Galcaio, Somalia | |
| 14 | 460.95 miles (741.82 km) WNW | Ta'izz International Airport (TAI) | Ta'izz, Yemen | |
| 15 | 481.07 miles (774.21 km) SSW | Obbia Airport (CMO) | Obbia, Somalia | |
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 11,758.86 miles (18,924.00 km) SE | Pukarua Airport (PUK) | Pukarua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia | |
| 2 | 11,757.45 miles (18,921.73 km) ESE | Atuona Airport (AUQ) | Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia | |
| 3 | 11,626.36 miles (18,710.77 km) SE | Nukutavake Airport (NUK) | Nukutavake, Tuamotus, French Polynesia | |
| 4 | 11,612.28 miles (18,688.11 km) ESE | Fangatau Airport (FGU) | Fangatau, French Polynesia | |
| 5 | 11,583.49 miles (18,641.77 km) SSE | Totegegie Airport (GMR) | Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia | |
| 6 | 11,570.24 miles (18,620.44 km) SE | Tureira Airport (ZTA) | Tureia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia | |
| 7 | 11,549.81 miles (18,587.57 km) ESE | Hao Airport (HOI) | Hao, Tuamotu Island, French Polynesia | |
| 8 | 11,506.59 miles (18,518.01 km) ESE | Raroia Airport (RRR) | Raroia, French Polynesia | |
| 9 | 11,421.16 miles (18,380.53 km) ESE | Makemo Airport (MKP) | Makemo, French Polynesia | |
| 10 | 11,301.67 miles (18,188.22 km) ESE | Fakarava Airport (FAV) | Fakarava, Society Islands, French Polynesia | |
| 11 | 11,292.82 miles (18,173.99 km) E | Manihi Airport (XMH) | Manihi, French Polynesia | |
| 12 | 11,288.49 miles (18,167.02 km) ESE | Anaa Airport (AAA) | Anaa, Tuamotus, French Polynesia | |
| 13 | 11,280.53 miles (18,154.20 km) E | Ahe Airport (AHE) | Ahe, French Polynesia | |
| 14 | 11,258.76 miles (18,119.17 km) ESE | Apataki Airport (APK) | Apataki, French Polynesia | |
| 15 | 11,248.92 miles (18,103.33 km) ESE | Arutua Airport (AXR) | Arutua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia | |