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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Nanjing Lukou International Airport (NKG), Nanjing, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,566 miles (or 8,957 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 Nanjing Lukou 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 Nanjing Lukou 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 the spring of 1938, the Air Ministry acquired about 150 acres of open meadowland at Alconbury Hill, Huntingdonshire, expressly for use as a satellite airfield.
• 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.
• 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 technical site on the north-west side was expanded where a single T2 hangar was also erected.
• 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.
• During this period, RAF Alconbury consisted of a few wooden huts but plans were made to provide both refuelling and rearmament facilities.
• Opened in 1938, it is currently a non-flying facility under the control of the United States Air Force.
• 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 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.

Facts about Nanjing Lukou International Airport (NKG):

• Nanjing Lukou International Airport (NKG) has 2 runways.
• Because of Nanjing Lukou International Airport's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at Nanjing Lukou 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 furthest airport from Nanjing Lukou International Airport (NKG) is General Justo José de Urquiza Airport (PRA), which is nearly antipodal to Nanjing Lukou International Airport (meaning Nanjing Lukou International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from General Justo José de Urquiza Airport), and is located 12,398 miles (19,953 kilometers) away in Paraná, Entre Ríos, Argentina.
• The closest airport to Nanjing Lukou International Airport (NKG) is Changzhou Benniu Airport (CZX), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) ENE of NKG.
• In addition to being known as "Nanjing Lukou International Airport", other names for NKG include "南京禄口国际机场" and "Nánjīng Lùkǒu Guójì Jīchǎng".
• Nanjing Lukou International Airport handled 15,011,792 passengers last year.