Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and New Orleans, Louisiana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY), New Orleans, Louisiana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,609 miles (or 7,417 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 Louis Armstrong New Orleans 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 Louis Armstrong New Orleans 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• At one frying-pan-shaped hardstand on the north side of the airfield, an earth shooting-in butt was constructed.
• The closest airport to RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ESE of AYH.
• 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 Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY):

• In 1984 the airport was a small hub for Northeastern International Airlines, which had Boeing 727-100s, 727-200s, and Douglas DC-8s and wide body Airbus A300s.
• British Airways operated nonstop service to London and Mexico City in the early 1980s with the Lockheed L-1011-500 TriStar which was the long range version of the widebody trijet.
• On November 16, 1959 National Airlines Flight 967, a Douglas DC-7 flying from Tampa to New Orleans crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.
• In addition to being known as "Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport", another name for MSY is "Moisant Field".
• The furthest airport from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,125 miles (17,905 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport was once a major gateway for Latin American travel from the United States.
• Because of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport's relatively low elevation of 4 feet, planes can take off or land at Louis Armstrong New Orleans 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 closest airport to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) is Lakefront Airport (NEW), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) ENE of MSY.
• Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) has 2 runways.
• In 1969 Braniff International Airways started direct Boeing 707-320 jet service twice a week to Hawaii.