Nonstop flight route between Akrotiri, Cyprus and Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Akrotiri (AKT), Akrotiri, Cyprus and Montgomery County Airpark (GAI), Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,668 miles (or 9,121 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 Montgomery County Airpark, 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 Montgomery County Airpark. 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):

• After the Suez Crisis, the main emphasis of life on the airfield shifted to helping quell the EOKA revolt and training missions.
• Up until 1974 RAF Akrotiri had a balanced force of aircraft assigned to it, even including No.
• 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.
• Due to the station's relative proximity to the Middle East, it is often used by British allies when needed, such as for casualty reception for Americans after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing and as a staging post before heading into theatres of combat in the Middle East/Persian Gulf theaters.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Akrotiri", another name for AKT is ""Aki"".

Facts about Montgomery County Airpark (GAI):

• Because of Montgomery County Airpark's relatively low elevation of 539 feet, planes can take off or land at Montgomery County Airpark 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 Montgomery County Airpark (GAI) is College Park Airport (CGS), which is located only 18 miles (30 kilometers) SE of GAI.
• The furthest airport from Montgomery County Airpark (GAI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,667 miles (18,776 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Montgomery County Airpark (GAI) currently has only 1 runway.