Nonstop flight route between Hawi, Hawaii, United States and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from UPP to BUA:
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- About this route
- UPP Airport Information
- BUA Airport Information
- Facts about UPP
- Facts about BUA
- Map of Nearest Airports to UPP
- List of Nearest Airports to UPP
- Map of Furthest Airports from UPP
- List of Furthest Airports from UPP
- Map of Nearest Airports to BUA
- List of Nearest Airports to BUA
- Map of Furthest Airports from BUA
- List of Furthest Airports from BUA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Upolu Airport (UPP), Hawi, Hawaii, United States and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,797 miles (or 6,111 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 Upolu Airport and Buka 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 Upolu Airport and Buka 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: | UPP / PHUP |
Airport Name: | Upolu Airport |
Location: | Hawi, Hawaii, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 20°15'55"N by 155°51'36"W |
Area Served: | Hawi, Hawaii |
Operator/Owner: | Hawaii Department of Transportation |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 96 feet (29 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from UPP |
More Information: | UPP Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BUA / AYBK |
Airport Name: | Buka Island Airport |
Location: | Buka Island, Papua New Guinea |
GPS Coordinates: | 5°25'19"S by 154°40'21"E |
Area Served: | Buka Island, Papua New Guinea |
Operator/Owner: | Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 11 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from BUA |
More Information: | BUA Maps & Info |
Facts about Upolu Airport (UPP):
- Upolu Airport (UPP) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Upolu Airport's relatively low elevation of 96 feet, planes can take off or land at Upolu 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.
- As a general aviation airport, Upolu Airport has a single runway without taxiways and two aircraft parking areas south of the runway.
- The closest airport to Upolu Airport (UPP) is Waimea-Kohala Airport (MUE), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) SE of UPP.
- The furthest airport from Upolu Airport (UPP) is Maun Airport (MUB), which is nearly antipodal to Upolu Airport (meaning Upolu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maun Airport), and is located 12,387 miles (19,934 kilometers) away in Maun, Botswana.
- Upolu Airport is part of a centralized state structure governing all of the airports and seaports of Hawai'i.
Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):
- Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Buka Island Airport (BUA) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,781 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
- The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
- Because of Buka Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Buka 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.
- Today the airport is the primary air portal into Bougainville, and even 60 years after the war, wreckage from the military use of the airfield by the Japanese and Americans is easily found in the area.
- The origins of the airfield begin in 1941 when Australian troops built gun pits around a primitive airstrip in December 1941.