Nonstop flight route between Akrotiri, Cyprus and Mattoon/Charleston, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Akrotiri (AKT), Akrotiri, Cyprus and Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO), Mattoon/Charleston, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,095 miles (or 9,809 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 Coles County Memorial 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 Coles County Memorial 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):

• The station commander is double-hatted and is also the officer commanding the Akrotiri or Western Sovereign Base Area, reporting to the commander of British Forces Cyprus who is also the Administrator.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Akrotiri (AKT) is Paphos International Airport (PFO), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) WNW of AKT.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Akrotiri", another name for AKT is ""Aki"".
• 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.
• Akrotiri is also the winter training grounds of the RAF display team, the Red Arrows.
• 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.

Facts about Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO):

• The closest airport to Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO) is University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI), which is located 39 miles (62 kilometers) N of MTO.
• Airline flights started around 1955 and ended in 2000-2001.
• Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,091 miles (17,849 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport covers 1,225 acres at an elevation of 722 feet.
• Because of Coles County Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 722 feet, planes can take off or land at Coles County Memorial 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.