Nonstop flight route between Akrotiri, Cyprus and Honiara, Guadalcanal Island, Solomon Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Akrotiri (AKT), Akrotiri, Cyprus and Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (HIR), Honiara, Guadalcanal Island, Solomon Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,680 miles (or 13,969 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 Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field), 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 Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field). 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):

• 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.
• In August 1970 a detachment of "G" of the Central Intelligence Agency arrived at the airfield with U-2 aircraft to monitor the Egypt/Israel Suez Canal fighting and cease fire.
• The closest airport to RAF Akrotiri (AKT) is Paphos International Airport (PFO), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) WNW of AKT.
• A constant problem of airfields located outside the territory of the country whose forces are based there is that of overflight rights.
• A sizeable over-the-horizon radar antenna was erected within the base raising concern for the effect on local wildlife and on the health of people living in nearby Limassol.
• 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.
• Even this massive influx from Egypt was not the end.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Akrotiri", another name for AKT is ""Aki"".
• In March 2011, the station was used as a staging base for support aircraft involved in Operation Ellamy.

Facts about Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (HIR):

• Henderson Field was named for Marine Major Lofton Henderson, commanding officer of VMSB-241 who was killed in action at the Battle of Midway while leading his squadron into action against the Japanese carrier forces thereby becoming the first Marine aviator to perish during the battle.
• Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (HIR) currently has only 1 runway.
• Control of the airstrip was the focus of months of fighting in the Guadalcanal campaign during World War II.
• The furthest airport from Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (HIR) is Cap Skirring Airport (CSK), which is nearly antipodal to Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (meaning Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap Skirring Airport), and is located 12,138 miles (19,533 kilometers) away in Cap Skirring, Senegal.
• The closest airport to Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (HIR) is Mbambanakira Airport (MBU), which is located 27 miles (43 kilometers) SSW of HIR.
• Because of Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field)'s relatively low elevation of 28 feet, planes can take off or land at Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) 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.