Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Darwin International Airport (DRW), Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,582 miles (or 13,812 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 Darwin 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 Darwin 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):

• The construction attracted the attention of the Luftwaffe as the flying field of RAF Alconbury was attacked by German bombers on 16 September 1940, although no serious damage was done.
• The closest airport to RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ESE of AYH.
• 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.
• RAF Alconbury is also the home of the 501st Combat Support Wing.
• This was the time of the Blitz, when many parts of Britain were being subjected to an almost nightly series of heavy air raids.
• 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.
• At one frying-pan-shaped hardstand on the north side of the airfield, an earth shooting-in butt was constructed.
• The technical site on the north-west side was expanded where a single T2 hangar was also erected.

Facts about Darwin International Airport (DRW):

• In 2011 the airport served 26,036 flights and 1,743,734 passengers.
• The furthest airport from Darwin International Airport (DRW) is Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport (CAY), which is located 11,867 miles (19,099 kilometers) away in Cayenne, French Guiana.
• In April 2009 Garuda Indonesia suspended the Denpasar service from Darwin after nearly 30 years of service, citing "economic reasons".
• The closest airport to Darwin International Airport (DRW) is Bathurst Island Airport (BRT), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) NNW of DRW.
• Darwin International Airport handled 1,743,734 passengers last year.
• In December 2010 the Federal Government approved the Darwin Airport Master Plan, a 20-year blueprint of how the airport will be affected by and manage issues such as aviation growth and the rise of Darwin Airport as an international transit point between Europe, Asia and Australia.
• Darwin Airport has scheduled flights to destinations in the Northern Territory, around Australia and in Southeast Asia.
• In addition to being known as "Darwin International Airport", another name for DRW is "RAAF Base Darwin".
• Because of Darwin International Airport's relatively low elevation of 103 feet, planes can take off or land at Darwin 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.
• Darwin Airport has an international terminal, a domestic terminal and a cargo terminal.
• Darwin International Airport (DRW) has 2 runways.
• During the 2010–11 financial year there was a total of 1,679,899 passengers.
• During the 2009–10 financial year there was a total of 1,569,007 passengers which consisted of 207,825 international passengers and 1,361,182 domestic passengers, up 2.0%.