Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Gwadar, Pakistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Gwadar International Airport (GWD), Gwadar, Pakistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,709 miles (or 5,970 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 Gwadar 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 Gwadar 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 423 ABG command section and orderly room are located at Alconbury as are many of the support units and recreational facilities for the area.
• 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.
• In addition, two underground gasoline storage facilities, with a total capacity of 216,000 gallons were situated at points adjacent to the perimeter track, but at some distance from the explosive storage area.
• 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.
• 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.
• RAF Alconbury and RAF Molesworth are the last Second World War-era Eighth Air Force bases in Britain that are still actively in use and controlled by the United States Air Force.

Facts about Gwadar International Airport (GWD):

• The closest airport to Gwadar International Airport (GWD) is Jiwani (JIW), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) WSW of GWD.
• Gwadar International Airport (GWD) currently has only 1 runway.
• Pakistan anticipates Gwadar becoming a regional economic hub and, in preparation for this, has issued a directive for the development of New Gwadar International Airport.
• Because of Gwadar International Airport's relatively low elevation of 96 feet, planes can take off or land at Gwadar 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 town of Gwadar was purchased by Government of Pakistan from Sultan of Muscat in 1958.
• The furthest airport from Gwadar International Airport (GWD) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,908 miles (19,165 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.