Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Dum Dum (near Kolkata), India:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU), Dum Dum (near Kolkata), India would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,937 miles (or 7,945 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 AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose 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 AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose 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 AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH):

• Squadrons 15 and 40 converted from Battles to Bristol Blenheim bombers, but did not take part in bombing raids with the new type until the German Blitzkrieg was unleashed in May 1940.
• Also in 1942, to bring the station up to Class A airfield standards, the runways were extended to 2,000 yards, and 1,400 yards, with 26 additional hardstands along with the taxiways altered.
• The furthest airport from RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,821 miles (19,024 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ESE of AYH.
• In October 1941 two of its flights with 16 Wellingtons were dispatched to operate from Malta, supposedly on an emergency detachment.
• The host unit at RAF Alconbury is the 423rd Air Base Group which supplies host unit services for Alconbury as well as RAF Molesworth.
• Satellite bases were considered one answer to this threat – a landing ground within reasonable road travel distance of the parent airfield to which aircraft could be diverted if the home station was bombed or likely to be attacked.

Facts about Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU):

• The closest airport to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU) is Jessore Airport (JSR), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NE of CCU.
• Calcutta played an important role in the Second World War.
• In addition to being known as "Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport", another name for CCU is "নেতাজি সুভাষচন্দ্র বসু আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর".
• Kolkata airport traditionally served as a strategic stopover on the air route from Europe to Indochina and Australia.
• Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU) has 2 runways.
• Kolkata airport is connected to the Kolkata Suburban Railway system.
• Because of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose 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 modernisation plan included some improvements of the airport's existing terminals, including the addition of extra ticketing counters, check-in kiosks and cafes to the domestic terminal in 2009.
• The airport began as an open ground next to the Royal Artillery Armoury in Dum Dum.
• The furthest airport from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,276 miles (18,147 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Additionally, the current Kolkata Metro expansion plans include two new lines to the airport, one from Noapara connecting at Barasat, and the other from New Garia.