Nonstop flight route between Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom and Manzini, Swaziland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Lyneham (LYE), Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom and Matsapha Airport (MTS), Manzini, Swaziland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,759 miles (or 9,268 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 RAF Lyneham and Matsapha 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 RAF Lyneham and Matsapha 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 RAF Lyneham (LYE):

• RAF Lyneham received the first of 25 brand-new Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules on 23 November 1999, to be operated by Nos.
• A parade attended by the Princess Royal was held on 31 May 2011, to mark the departure of Nos.
• Lyneham's first runways were constructed during 1940 and 1941, the longest being 4,375 ft, the other 3,542 ft.
• The closest airport to RAF Lyneham (LYE) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) NE of LYE.
• With the increase in air transport operations in the RAF, as opposed to ferrying, Transport Command was formed in March 1943.
• RAF Lyneham (LYE) has 2 runways.
• Because of RAF Lyneham's relatively low elevation of 512 feet, planes can take off or land at RAF Lyneham 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 RAF Lyneham (LYE) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,913 miles (19,172 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The airfield became renowned for being the "gateway" between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan.

Facts about Matsapha Airport (MTS):

• The furthest airport from Matsapha Airport (MTS) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• Matsapha Airport (MTS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Matsapha Airport (MTS) is Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (MQP), which is located 80 miles (129 kilometers) N of MTS.