Nonstop flight route between Christmas Island, Australia and Agana, Guam:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Christmas Island Airport (XCH), Christmas Island, Australia and Andersen Air Force Base (UAM), Agana, Guam would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,161 miles (or 5,087 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 Christmas Island Airport and Andersen Air Force Base, 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 Christmas Island Airport and Andersen Air Force Base. 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 Christmas Island Airport (XCH):

• The closest airport to Christmas Island Airport (XCH) is Cibeureum Airfield (TSY), which is located 276 miles (445 kilometers) NE of XCH.
• The airport's location at the top of a hill, with a 2% mid-runway gradient, makes it a challenging landing for pilots.
• Christmas Island Airport (XCH) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Christmas Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 916 feet, planes can take off or land at Christmas 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.
• Christmas Island Airport handled 27,286 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Christmas Island Airport (XCH) is Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport (BAQ), which is nearly antipodal to Christmas Island Airport (meaning Christmas Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport), and is located 12,393 miles (19,944 kilometers) away in Barranquilla, Colombia.
• From the late 1940s, when the island was still a British colony administered by Singapore and the Straits Settlements Administration, it was serviced occasionally by Royal Air Force Short Sunderland flying boats before the construction of the airport.

Facts about Andersen Air Force Base (UAM):

• The 3rd Air Division was activated on 18 June in its place, its object being control of all SAC units in the Far East.
• Andersen saw an end to its role in rotational duties when the B-47 was phased out and replaced by the B-52 Stratofortress.
• Andersen Air Force Base was established on 3 December 1944 and is named for Brigadier General James Roy Andersen.
• Andersen Air Force Base's origins begin on 7 December 1941 when Guam was attacked by the armed forces of Imperial Japan in the Battle of Guam three hours after the Attack on Pearl Harbor.
• The furthest airport from Andersen Air Force Base (UAM) is Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho) (SSA), which is nearly antipodal to Andersen Air Force Base (meaning Andersen Air Force Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho)), and is located 12,214 miles (19,656 kilometers) away in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
• The base saw a major change in 1989, when control transferred from the Strategic Air Command to Pacific Air Forces.
• Flying out of Guam, S/Sgt Henry E Erwin of the 29th Bombardment Group was awarded the Medal of Honor for action that saved his B-29 during a mission over Koriyama, Japan, on 12 April 1945.
• The closest airport to Andersen Air Force Base (UAM) is Guam International Airport (GUM), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) SW of UAM.
• With hostilities in Korea at a standstill, the 19th Bomb Wing headquarters relocated to Kadena Air Base, Japan in 1953, and was replaced by the 6319th Air Base Wing of the Far East Air Forces.
• Guam was considered as being ideal to establish air bases to launch B-29 Superfortress operations against the Japanese Home Islands.
• Three days after North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, the 19th Bomb Group deployed B-29s to Andersen to begin bombing targets throughout South Korea.
• After the end of World War II, Guam served as a collection point for surplus war goods that had accumulated in the Pacific Theater.