Nonstop flight route between British Columbia, Canada and Honiara, Guadalcanal Island, Solomon Islands:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from YAL to HIR:
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- About this route
- YAL Airport Information
- HIR Airport Information
- Facts about YAL
- Facts about HIR
- Map of Nearest Airports to YAL
- List of Nearest Airports to YAL
- Map of Furthest Airports from YAL
- List of Furthest Airports from YAL
- Map of Nearest Airports to HIR
- List of Nearest Airports to HIR
- Map of Furthest Airports from HIR
- List of Furthest Airports from HIR
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Alert Bay Airport (YAL), British Columbia, Canada and Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (HIR), Honiara, Guadalcanal Island, Solomon Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,995 miles (or 9,649 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 Alert Bay Airport and Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field), 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 Alert Bay Airport and Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field). You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | YAL / CYAL |
Airport Name: | Alert Bay Airport |
Location: | British Columbia, Canada |
GPS Coordinates: | 50°34'55"N by 126°54'56"W |
Operator/Owner: | Corporation of Village of Alert Bay |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 240 feet (73 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from YAL |
More Information: | YAL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | HIR / AGGH |
Airport Name: | Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) |
Location: | Honiara, Guadalcanal Island, Solomon Islands |
GPS Coordinates: | 9°25'41"S by 160°3'16"E |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 28 feet (9 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from HIR |
More Information: | HIR Maps & Info |
Facts about Alert Bay Airport (YAL):
- The closest airport to Alert Bay Airport (YAL) is Port McNeill Airport (YMP), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) W of YAL.
- Because of Alert Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 240 feet, planes can take off or land at Alert Bay 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 Alert Bay Airport (YAL) is East London Airport (ELS), which is located 10,675 miles (17,179 kilometers) away in East London, South Africa.
- Alert Bay Airport (YAL) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (HIR):
- Because of Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field)'s relatively low elevation of 28 feet, planes can take off or land at Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) 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.
- Henderson Field was named for Marine Major Lofton Henderson, commanding officer of VMSB-241 who was killed in action at the Battle of Midway while leading his squadron into action against the Japanese carrier forces thereby becoming the first Marine aviator to perish during the battle.
- The furthest airport from Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (HIR) is Cap Skirring Airport (CSK), which is nearly antipodal to Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (meaning Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap Skirring Airport), and is located 12,138 miles (19,533 kilometers) away in Cap Skirring, Senegal.
- The closest airport to Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (HIR) is Mbambanakira Airport (MBU), which is located 27 miles (43 kilometers) SSW of HIR.
- Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (HIR) currently has only 1 runway.
- The field was abandoned after the war, but reopened in 1969 as a modernized civilian airport.
- Control of the airstrip was the focus of months of fighting in the Guadalcanal campaign during World War II.