Nonstop flight route between Suffield, Alberta, Canada and Alotau, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between CFB Suffield (YSD), Suffield, Alberta, Canada and Gurney Airport (GUR), Alotau, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,139 miles (or 11,489 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 CFB Suffield and Gurney 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 CFB Suffield and Gurney 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 CFB Suffield (YSD):

• The furthest airport from CFB Suffield (YSD) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,339 miles (16,640 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The decision to designate the Suffield Block a military training facility in 1941 left tens of square kilometres of undisturbed prairie grassland intact from the effects of industrial agriculture.
• The closest airport to CFB Suffield (YSD) is Medicine Hat Airport (YXH), which is located 27 miles (43 kilometers) SE of YSD.
• The lands comprising modern-day CFB Suffield were known as the "Suffield Block", resulting from the Dominion Land Survey, and comprised marginal agricultural land, given the perpetual semi-arid climate.
• The base has its own radio station, CKBF-FM, which airs programming for both the Canadian and British military personnel stationed at the base.

Facts about Gurney Airport (GUR):

• The airport is a single runway general aviation facility, however in December, 2008, the PNG Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation, Don Polye announced that aviation company Skyworld had been granted permission to operate direct flights from Cairns, Australia to Gurney.
• Gurney Airport (GUR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Gurney Airport (GUR) is Vivigani Airport (VIV), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) N of GUR.
• Because of Gurney Airport's relatively low elevation of 89 feet, planes can take off or land at Gurney 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 Gurney Airport (GUR) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,966 miles (19,257 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.