Nonstop flight route between Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena and Richmond, Virginia, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Ascension (ASI), Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena and Richmond International Airport (RIC), Richmond, Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,123 miles (or 8,245 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 Richmond 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 Ascension and Richmond 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 Ascension (ASI):

• The Target Tracking Radar Station was a Nike Zeus test facility for tracking reentry vehicles from Cape Canaveral missile launches.
• Ascension serves as a diversion airport for ETOPS aircraft crossing the Atlantic.
• The closest airport to RAF Ascension (ASI) is Sasstown Airport (SAZ), which is located 965 miles (1,553 kilometers) NNE of ASI.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Ascension", another name for ASI is "Wideawake Airbase/Field".
• 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.
• RAF Ascension Island was re-garrisoned by the RAF in 1982 and used extensively as a staging base during the Falklands War.

Facts about Richmond International Airport (RIC):

• Because of Richmond International Airport's relatively low elevation of 167 feet, planes can take off or land at Richmond 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.
• The furthest airport from Richmond International Airport (RIC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,698 miles (18,827 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Richmond International Airport (RIC) is A.P. Hill Army Airfield (APH), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) N of RIC.
• In 2004, Richmond International Airport handled over 57,000 tons of cargo.
• In November 2012, RIC served 262,146 passengers.
• Richmond International Airport (RIC) has 3 runways.
• The current president and CEO of the airport is Jon Mathiasen.
• Richmond International Airport handled 3,311,747 passengers last year.
• Richmond International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport, in Sandston, Virginia, an unincorporated community.