Nonstop flight route between Ketchikan, Alaska, United States and Pago Pago, American Samoa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base (WFB), Ketchikan, Alaska, United States and Pago Pago International Airport (PPG), Pago Pago, American Samoa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,319 miles (or 8,561 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 Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base and Pago Pago 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 Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base and Pago Pago 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 Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base (WFB):

• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 38,945 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 40,462 enplanements in 2009, and 43,737 in 2010.
• In addition to being known as "Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base", another name for WFB is "5KE".
• The furthest airport from Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base (WFB) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 10,613 miles (17,079 kilometers) away in Port Alfred, South Africa.
• Because of Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base 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.
• Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base has one seaplane landing area designated NW/SE which measures 10,000 x 1,500 ft.
• The closest airport to Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base (WFB) is Ketchikan International Airport (KTN), which is located only 2 miles (3 kilometers) WNW of WFB.
• Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base (WFB) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Pago Pago International Airport (PPG):

• The site and location of the current airport was originally known as Tafuna Airfield.
• Towards the end of its peak commercial passenger aviation period, Pago Pago International Airport also became an ideal refueling stopover for cargo carriers due to the low cost of fuel and landing fees at the time.
• It was also used for inter island air service between Faleolo, Western Samoa and Pago Pago in 1959 by newly formed, Apia-based Polynesian Airlines and short-lived, Pago Pago-based Samoa Airways using ex-military Douglas C-47B-45-DK type aircraft.
• On October 13 and 19, 2009, the world's largest and heaviest aircraft, the Antonov An-225 landed at Pago Pago International Airport to deliver emergency power generation equipment during the 2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami.
• A new US$12+ million Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Fire Crash station was completed in 2005.
• To facilitate aircraft with large payload requirements and long distance flights, runway 05/23 was expanded in early 2001 from an original runway length of 9,000 feet to the current 10,000 feet.
• Pago Pago International Airport (PPG) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Pago Pago International Airport (PPG) is Ofu Airport (OFU), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) E of PPG.
• Because of Pago Pago International Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Pago Pago 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.
• The furthest airport from Pago Pago International Airport (PPG) is Zinder Airport (ZND), which is nearly antipodal to Pago Pago International Airport (meaning Pago Pago International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Zinder Airport), and is located 12,396 miles (19,950 kilometers) away in Zinder, Niger.