Nonstop flight route between Akrotiri, Cyprus and Cotonou, Benin:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Akrotiri (AKT), Akrotiri, Cyprus and Cotonou Cadjehoun Airport (COO), Cotonou, Benin would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,757 miles (or 4,438 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 Akrotiri and Cotonou Cadjehoun 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 Akrotiri and Cotonou Cadjehoun 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 Akrotiri (AKT):

• In September 1976 the US U-2 operations were turned over to the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, but the U-2 operation at RAF Akrotiri continued to be called Operating Location OH until September 1980.
• The attack on Egypt was a military success, despite interference in the plan which reduced its effectiveness.
• The station hosted the main hospital for British Forces Cyprus, The Princess Mary's Hospital, located on Cape Zevgari.
• The closest airport to RAF Akrotiri (AKT) is Paphos International Airport (PFO), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) WNW of AKT.
• The U-2s of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing were used in Operation Cedar Sweep to fly surveillance over Lebanon, relaying information about Hezbollah militants to Lebanese authorities, and in Operation Highland Warrior to fly surveillance over Turkey and northern Iraq to relay information to Turkish authorities.
• Akrotiri, along with Nicosia, assumed a very important status, as virtually the sole means for projecting British airpower into the eastern Mediterranean, outside of aircraft carriers.
• The furthest airport from RAF Akrotiri (AKT) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,556 miles (18,598 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• Akrotiri was first constructed in the mid-1950s to relieve pressure on the main RAF station on the island, RAF Nicosia.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Akrotiri", another name for AKT is ""Aki"".

Facts about Cotonou Cadjehoun Airport (COO):

• Because of Cotonou Cadjehoun Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at Cotonou Cadjehoun 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.
• Cotonou Cadjehoun Airport is an airport in Cotonou, the largest city in Benin in West Africa.
• Cotonou Cadjehoun Airport (COO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Cotonou Cadjehoun Airport (COO) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is nearly antipodal to Cotonou Cadjehoun Airport (meaning Cotonou Cadjehoun Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Funafuti International Airport), and is located 12,172 miles (19,589 kilometers) away in Funafuti, Tuvalu.
• The closest airport to Cotonou Cadjehoun Airport (COO) is Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) ENE of COO.
• In 1974, it was decided to move the operations of the Cotonou international airport to a new facility in Glo-Djigbé.