Nonstop flight route between Van Nuys, California, United States and Lae, Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from VNY to LAE:
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- About this route
- VNY Airport Information
- LAE Airport Information
- Facts about VNY
- Facts about LAE
- Map of Nearest Airports to VNY
- List of Nearest Airports to VNY
- Map of Furthest Airports from VNY
- List of Furthest Airports from VNY
- Map of Nearest Airports to LAE
- List of Nearest Airports to LAE
- Map of Furthest Airports from LAE
- List of Furthest Airports from LAE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Van Nuys Airport (VNY), Van Nuys, California, United States and Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE), Lae, Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,746 miles (or 10,856 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 Van Nuys Airport and Lae Nadzab 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 Van Nuys Airport and Lae Nadzab Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | VNY / KVNY |
Airport Name: | Van Nuys Airport |
Location: | Van Nuys, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°12'34"N by 118°29'23"W |
Area Served: | Los Angeles, California |
Operator/Owner: | Los Angeles World Airports |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 802 feet (244 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from VNY |
More Information: | VNY Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LAE / AYNZ |
Airport Name: | Lae Nadzab Airport |
Location: | Lae, Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea |
GPS Coordinates: | 6°34'10"S by 146°43'33"E |
Operator/Owner: | Papua New Guinea Office of Civil Aviation |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 239 feet (73 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from LAE |
More Information: | LAE Maps & Info |
Facts about Van Nuys Airport (VNY):
- Most news helicopters from the Los Angeles area are based at Van Nuys Airport.
- The furthest airport from Van Nuys Airport (VNY) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,472 miles (18,463 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- The closest airport to Van Nuys Airport (VNY) is Whiteman Airport (WHP), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NE of VNY.
- Because of Van Nuys Airport's relatively low elevation of 802 feet, planes can take off or land at Van Nuys 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.
- Many movies and television shows have been filmed at the airport, including a scene showing the arrival of Major Strasser in Casablanca, an episode of the TV show Alias, and several episodes of Season 5 of 24.
- Van Nuys Airport is the busiest general aviation airport in the world, and the 25th busiest airport in the world.
- A major part of the science fiction classic Silent Running was filmed at the Van Nuys Airport in March 1971.
- Legend has it that Burbank Airport provided the setting for Humphrey Bogart's famous goodbye in the film Casablanca.
- Van Nuys Airport (VNY) has 2 runways.
Facts about Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE):
- Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Lae Nadzab Airport's relatively low elevation of 239 feet, planes can take off or land at Lae Nadzab 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.
- Nadzab is located on the Erap River, 5 kilometres North of the Markham River.
- The closest airport to Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) is Bulolo Airport (BUL), which is located 45 miles (72 kilometers) S of LAE.
- In March 1942, the Japanese occupied Lae and Salamaua.
- After Lae was liberated, the United States Army built Nadzab airport and developed it into a massive airbase complex.
- The airfield in Lae was operating at the same time as Nadzab but business was significantly lost to the new airport complex became fully operational in 1977.
- The furthest airport from Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,714 miles (18,852 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.