Nonstop flight route between Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lethbridge Airport (YQL), Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,617 miles (or 10,648 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 Lethbridge Airport and Buka Island 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 Lethbridge Airport and Buka Island 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 Lethbridge Airport (YQL):

• The RCAF left Lethbridge in 1944.
• The closest airport to Lethbridge Airport (YQL) is Pincher Creek Airport (WPC), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) W of YQL.
• On 7 February 2009, a general aviation Cessna 150 crash-landed in a field at the airport.
• Lethbridge County assumed ownership of the airport on 1 January 1997, and it was subsequently named the Lethbridge County Airport.
• The furthest airport from Lethbridge Airport (YQL) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,420 miles (16,770 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• By 1962, passenger flights operated by Trans-Canada Air Lines had become more regional in nature.
• Lethbridge Airport (YQL) has 2 runways.

Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• The furthest airport from Buka Island Airport (BUA) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,781 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• On 26 July, an Imperial Japanese Navy special detachment was sent to inspect Buka Airfield, but considered it unacceptable as a prospect for a speedily constructed major airfield.
• Today the airport is the primary air portal into Bougainville, and even 60 years after the war, wreckage from the military use of the airfield by the Japanese and Americans is easily found in the area.
• Buka Airport is an airport serving Buka Island in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea.
• Because of Buka Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Buka 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.
• There is one navigational aid, the Buka NDB situated on nearby Sohano Island.