Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Kunming, Yunnan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Kunming Changshui International Airport (KMG), Kunming, Yunnan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,380 miles (or 8,659 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 Kunming Changshui 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 Kunming Changshui 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):

• In 1937, Royal Air Force Bomber Command was drawing up plans for dispersal of their aircraft in the event of air raids on its stations.
• 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.
• This was the time of the Blitz, when many parts of Britain were being subjected to an almost nightly series of heavy air raids.
• 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 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 technical site on the north-west side was expanded where a single T2 hangar was also erected.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Kunming Changshui International Airport (KMG):

• Kunming Changshui International Airport (KMG) has 2 runways.
• Because of Kunming Changshui International Airport's high elevation of 6,900 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KMG. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KMG a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Kunming Changshui International Airport (KMG) is Wenshan Puzhehei Airport (WNH), which is located 138 miles (222 kilometers) SE of KMG.
• The main terminal was designed by architectural firm SOM with engineering firm Arup.
• The furthest airport from Kunming Changshui International Airport (KMG) is Chañaral Airport (CNR), which is nearly antipodal to Kunming Changshui International Airport (meaning Kunming Changshui International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chañaral Airport), and is located 12,026 miles (19,353 kilometers) away in Chañaral, Atacama Region, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Kunming Changshui International Airport", other names for KMG include "昆明长水国际机场" and "Kūnmíng Chángshuǐ Guójì Jīchǎng".