Nonstop flight route between Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena and Sanya, Hainan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Ascension (ASI), Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena and Sanya Phoenix International Airport (SYX), Sanya, Hainan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,603 miles (or 13,846 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 Sanya Phoenix 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 Sanya Phoenix 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 station comes under the overall jurisdiction of the Commander British Forces South Atlantic Islands, an officer of one-star rank.
• 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.
• The RAF presence on Ascension is backed up by United States Air Force personnel, who contribute a similar number of service personnel to ensure the effective running of the station, under the command of Captain Eduard Rodriguez, who is responsible to the RAF Station Commander.
• RAF Ascension Island was re-garrisoned by the RAF in 1982 and used extensively as a staging base during the Falklands War.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Ascension", another name for ASI is "Wideawake Airbase/Field".
• The Target Tracking Radar Station was a Nike Zeus test facility for tracking reentry vehicles from Cape Canaveral missile launches.
• The closest airport to RAF Ascension (ASI) is Sasstown Airport (SAZ), which is located 965 miles (1,553 kilometers) NNE of ASI.

Facts about Sanya Phoenix International Airport (SYX):

• The closest airport to Sanya Phoenix International Airport (SYX) is Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK), which is located 132 miles (212 kilometers) NNE of SYX.
• The furthest airport from Sanya Phoenix International Airport (SYX) is Chacalluta International Airport (ARI), which is nearly antipodal to Sanya Phoenix International Airport (meaning Sanya Phoenix International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chacalluta International Airport), and is located 12,420 miles (19,988 kilometers) away in Arica, Chile.
• Sanya Phoenix International Airport (SYX) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Sanya Phoenix International Airport", other names for SYX include "三亚凤凰国际机场" and "Sānyà Fènghuáng Guójì Jīcháng".
• In 2012, Sanya Airport handled 11,343,387 passengers, making it the 19th busiest airport in China in terms of passengers, and 24th busiest in terms of movements with 81,456 in 2012.