Nonstop flight route between Tureia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia and Pierre, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tureira Airport (ZTA), Tureia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia and Pierre Regional Airport (PIR), Pierre, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,109 miles (or 8,223 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 Pierre 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 Pierre Regional 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 Tureira Airport (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.
• The closest airport to Tureira Airport (ZTA) is Nukutavake Airport (NUK), which is located 104 miles (167 kilometers) N of ZTA.
• 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.
• Administratively Tureia Atoll is the capital of the commune of Tureia, which includes the atolls of Fangataufa, Moruroa, Tematangi and Vanavana.
• 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.
• Tureia is an atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia.

Facts about Pierre Regional Airport (PIR):

• The closest airport to Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) is Mobridge Municipal Airport (MBG), which is located 81 miles (130 kilometers) N of PIR.
• A new terminal has been designed, and construction began in late Spring, 2011.
• Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,493 miles (16,887 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In addition to being known as "Pierre Regional Airport", another name for PIR is "Pierre Army Airfield".
• Pierre Regional Airport is a city owned, public airport three miles east of Pierre, in Hughes County, South Dakota.
• Until June 30, 2006, service on Great Lakes Airlines to Denver was subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.