Nonstop flight route between Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena and Shetland, Scotland, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Ascension (ASI), Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena and Sumburgh Airport (LSI), Shetland, Scotland, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,743 miles (or 7,633 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 Ascension and Sumburgh 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 Ascension and Sumburgh 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 Ascension (ASI):

• RAF Ascension Island is also the refuelling point for the Ministry of Defence's South Atlantic Air Bridge flights to RAF Mount Pleasant, on the Falkland Islands, from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, in the UK.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Ascension", another name for ASI is "Wideawake Airbase/Field".
• In 1939 Ascension became important as a HF/DF radio station covering trade routes.
• Ascension Island Auxiliary Field was being built by 181 men from Saint Helena by 1957
• The closest airport to RAF Ascension (ASI) is Sasstown Airport (SAZ), which is located 965 miles (1,553 kilometers) NNE of ASI.
• The furthest airport from RAF Ascension (ASI) is Ujae Airport (UJE), which is nearly antipodal to RAF Ascension (meaning RAF Ascension is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ujae Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Ujae Atoll, Marshall Islands.

Facts about Sumburgh Airport (LSI):

• Sumburgh Airport (LSI) has 2 runways.
• On 1 April 1995, ownership of the Company transferred from the UK Civil Aviation Authority to the Secretary of State for Scotland and subsequently to the Scottish Ministers.
• Because of Sumburgh Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Sumburgh 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.
• The furthest airport from Sumburgh Airport (LSI) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,442 miles (18,414 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• The airport is unusual in that it has a 550 m helicopter runway as opposed to usual helipad.
• The former RAF Sumburgh airfield had two runways, the longest being 800 yd, and the shorter running a length of 600 yd from shore-line to shore-line.
• The closest airport to Sumburgh Airport (LSI) is Tingwall Airport (LWK), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) N of LSI.