Nonstop flight route between Akrotiri, Cyprus and Shanghai, People's Republic of China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Akrotiri (AKT), Akrotiri, Cyprus and Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), Shanghai, People's Republic of China would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,978 miles (or 8,012 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 Shanghai Pudong International 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 Shanghai Pudong International 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Akrotiri", another name for AKT is ""Aki"".
• Akrotiri is also the winter training grounds of the RAF display team, the Red Arrows.
• 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.
• In July 2006 RAF Akrotiri played a major role as a transit point for personnel evacuations out of Lebanon during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.
• 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.
• Akrotiri has played a crucial role during Britain's recent operations in the Middle East.
• 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 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.

Facts about Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG):

• The closest airport to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) is Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) W of PVG.
• Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) has 3 runways.
• Because of Shanghai Pudong International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Shanghai Pudong International 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.
• In addition to being known as "Shanghai Pudong International Airport", other names for PVG include "上海浦东国际机场" and "Shànghǎi Pǔdōng Guójì Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) is Comodoro Pierrestegui Airport (COC), which is nearly antipodal to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (meaning Shanghai Pudong International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Comodoro Pierrestegui Airport), and is located 12,421 miles (19,990 kilometers) away in Concordia, Entre Ríos, Argentina.
• Shanghai Airlines moved to Terminal 2 upon its opening on March 26, 2008 with 14 other airlines, including Air India, Northwest Airlines, Qatar Airways, Alitalia, British Airways, Qantas, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Philippine Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Transaero Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Aerosvit Airlines, Garuda Indonesia and Royal Nepal Airlines.
• The airport has 70 boarding bridges along with 218 parking positions.
• Shanghai Pudong International Airport handled 44,857,200 passengers last year.
• Construction of the first phase of the new Shanghai Pudong International Airport began in October 1997, took two years to build at a cost of RMB 12 billion, and was opened on October 1, 1999.