Nonstop flight route between Abaiang, Kiribati and Birmingham, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Abaiang Atoll Airport (ABF), Abaiang, Kiribati and Birmingham Airport (BHX), Birmingham, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,676 miles (or 13,963 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 Abaiang Atoll Airport and Birmingham 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 Abaiang Atoll Airport and Birmingham 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 Abaiang Atoll Airport (ABF):

• The furthest airport from Abaiang Atoll Airport (ABF) is Cape Palmas Airport (CPA), which is nearly antipodal to Abaiang Atoll Airport (meaning Abaiang Atoll Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cape Palmas Airport), and is located 12,007 miles (19,323 kilometers) away in Cape Palmas, Liberia.
• Because of Abaiang Atoll Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Abaiang Atoll 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 closest airport to Abaiang Atoll Airport (ABF) is Marakei Airport (MZK), which is located 23 miles (38 kilometers) NE of ABF.

Facts about Birmingham Airport (BHX):

• The closest airport to Birmingham Airport (BHX) is Coventry Airport (CVT), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) ESE of BHX.
• Building a new control tower for the airport began in July 2011, to replace the old tower which has stood at the airport since it was opened in 1939.
• Birmingham Airport (BHX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Although initial plans for a second runway were scrapped, this is now firmly back on the airports agenda ahead of the report into Britains aviation strategy being published.
• Birmingham handled a record 9.6 million passengers in 2008, and 9.1 million passengers used the airport in 2013, making Birmingham the seventh busiest UK airport.
• Birmingham Airport handled 9,120,201 passengers last year.
• The airport's location south-east of the city, plus the only operational runway being north-west – south-east, means that depending on wind direction, aircraft land or take-off directly over Birmingham.
• Because of Birmingham Airport's relatively low elevation of 341 feet, planes can take off or land at Birmingham 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.
• It's also been estimated that if these plans were to go ahead, the airport could handle around 70,000,000 passengers annually, and around 500,000 aircraft movements.
• The extension will increase the runway length from the present 2,605 m to 3,003 m, the main plan was to have a 150m starter extension along with the 400m extension but because the plan for the tunnel had been cancelled because of costs the runway length will be 3,050 m.There will be a loop taxiway from which planes will taxi to the runway and then takeoff.
• The furthest airport from Birmingham Airport (BHX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,858 miles (19,084 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Originally, the target for completion was in time for the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics.