Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Narita (near Tokyo), Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Narita International Airport (NRT), Narita (near Tokyo), Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,902 miles (or 9,498 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 Narita 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 Narita 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• RAF Alconbury is also the home of the 501st Combat Support Wing.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• The closest airport to RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ESE of AYH.

Facts about Narita International Airport (NRT):

• In addition to being known as "Narita International Airport", other names for NRT include "成田国際空港" and "Narita Kokusai Kūkō".
• The closest airport to Narita International Airport (NRT) is Tokyo International Airport (HND), which is located 37 miles (59 kilometers) WSW of NRT.
• Narita International Airport handled 31,432,754 passengers last year.
• Airport Narita is the suburban JR service to the airport.
• For domestic flights, three gates in the main building are connected to both the main departures concourse and to a separate domestic check-in facility.
• By the early 1960s, Tokyo International Airport was quickly becoming overcrowded.
• NRT has one on-site hotel, the Airport Rest House adjacent to Terminal 1.
• Narita International Airport (NRT) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Narita International Airport (NRT) is Diomício Freitas/Forquilhinha Airport (CCM), which is located 11,686 miles (18,806 kilometers) away in Criciúma, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
• Because of Narita International Airport's relatively low elevation of 135 feet, planes can take off or land at Narita 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.