Nonstop flight route between Tureia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia and Abha / Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tureira Airport (ZTA), Tureia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia and Abha Regional Airport (AHB), Abha / Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,245 miles (or 19,706 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 Tureira Airport and Abha Regional 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 Tureira Airport and Abha Regional Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between ZTA and AHB makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Tureira Airport and Abha Regional Airport would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between ZTA and AHB are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Tureia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia and Abha / Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia by taking some connecting flights!

Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between ZTA and AHB!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Tureira Airport (ZTA):

• The closest airport to Tureira Airport (ZTA) is Nukutavake Airport (NUK), which is located 104 miles (167 kilometers) N of ZTA.
• The village of Hakamaru, population 261, is the only settlement on Tureia, at the northern tip of the atoll.
• The furthest airport from Tureira Airport (ZTA) is Al-Baha Domestic Airport (ABT), which is nearly antipodal to Tureira Airport (meaning Tureira Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Al-Baha Domestic Airport), and is located 12,402 miles (19,958 kilometers) away in Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia.
• From 1966 to 1999, Tureia hosted an outpost of the Centre d'Expérimentation du Pacifique, the French authority supervising nuclear tests on the nearby atolls of Moruroa and Fangataufa, which lie about 70 miles/115 kilometres south of Tureia.
• The first recorded European to arrive to Tureia was Captain Edward Edwards in 1791, during his search for the Bounty mutineers.
• Because of Tureira Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Tureira 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.

Facts about Abha Regional Airport (AHB):

• The furthest airport from Abha Regional Airport (AHB) is Pukarua Airport (PUK), which is nearly antipodal to Abha Regional Airport (meaning Abha Regional Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Pukarua Airport), and is located 12,415 miles (19,980 kilometers) away in Pukarua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia.
• Abha Regional Airport (AHB) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Abha Regional Airport", another name for AHB is "مطار أبهـــا".
• Because of Abha Regional Airport's high elevation of 6,858 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at AHB. Combined with a high temperature, this could make AHB a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Construction of Abha Airport was started in mid-1975 by Laing Wimpey Alireza.
• The closest airport to Abha Regional Airport (AHB) is Bisha Domestic Airport (BHH), which is located 121 miles (194 kilometers) N of AHB.
• The site was new construction area between the cities of Khamis Mushait and Abha and served both equally.