Nonstop flight route between Vivigani, Goodenough Island, Papua New Guinea and Surat Thani, Thailand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vivigani Airport (VIV), Vivigani, Goodenough Island, Papua New Guinea and Surat Thani International Airport (URT), Surat Thani, Thailand would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,744 miles (or 6,026 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 Vivigani Airport and Surat Thani International 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 Vivigani Airport and Surat Thani International Airport. 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 Vivigani Airport (VIV):

• Vivigani Airfield was an airstrip at Vivigani on Goodenough Island, part of the D'Entrecasteaux Islands in Papua New Guinea.
• The furthest airport from Vivigani Airport (VIV) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,915 miles (19,176 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
• The Australian 2/12th Battalion reached Vivigani on 27 October 1942, occupying the island after defeating the Imperial Japanese troops marooned on the island during World War II.
• The closest airport to Vivigani Airport (VIV) is Gurney Airport (GUR), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) S of VIV.
• The Royal Australian Air Force prepared the airfields, first building an emergency landing strip in April 1943.
• The airfield was used by both the 5th Air Force and the RAAF.

Facts about Surat Thani International Airport (URT):

• The closest airport to Surat Thani International Airport (URT) is Ranong Airport (UNN), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NW of URT.
• The 701 Squadron, "Shark", flies six SAAB JAS-39 C/D Gripen fighter aircraft and still operates up to twelve of the remaining F-5B and F-5E Tiger fighters.
• On 11 December 1998, Thai Airways International Flight 261, an A310-200 bound for Surat Thani from Bangkok, was making its third landing attempt in heavy rain when it crashed into a rice paddy about 2 miles from the airport.
• In addition to being known as "Surat Thani International Airport", another name for URT is "ท่าอากาศยานสุราษฎร์ธานี".
• The furthest airport from Surat Thani International Airport (URT) is Capitán FAP Carlos Martínez de Pinillos International Airport (TRU), which is nearly antipodal to Surat Thani International Airport (meaning Surat Thani International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Capitán FAP Carlos Martínez de Pinillos International Airport), and is located 12,297 miles (19,789 kilometers) away in Trujillo, Peru.
• Surat Thani International Airport (URT) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Surat Thani International Airport's relatively low elevation of 286 feet, planes can take off or land at Surat Thani 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.