Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Colón, Panama:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport (ONX), Colón, Panama would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,271 miles (or 8,483 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 Enrique Adolfo Jiménez 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 Enrique Adolfo Jiménez 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.
• 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 group comprises six squadrons—security forces and civil engineer, air base, medical and services—and supports tenant units.
• 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 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 host unit at RAF Alconbury is the 423rd Air Base Group which supplies host unit services for Alconbury as well as RAF Molesworth.
• At one frying-pan-shaped hardstand on the north side of the airfield, an earth shooting-in butt was constructed.
• During this period, RAF Alconbury consisted of a few wooden huts but plans were made to provide both refuelling and rearmament facilities.

Facts about Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport (ONX):

• In 1994, this airport was the departure point for Alas Chiricanas Flight 00901, later downed by terrorists.
• As Colon Airport, it was served by Boeing 307 Stratoliners and other early airliners flying Pan Am routes from Miami to Buenos Aires, Argentina via Havana, Cuba and Kingston, Jamaica into Cristobal and Colón, then continuing south via Lima, Peru, into Buenos Aires.
• The Army was concerned that France Field, being the only operational airfield in the Canal Zone, was vulnerable to potential attackers, as well as to weather conditions.
• Because of Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Enrique Adolfo Jiménez 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.
• Almost from the beginning, it was realized that flying in the tropics was very different than in the United States.
• In addition to being known as "Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport", another name for ONX is "Aeropuerto Enrique Adolfo Jiménez".
• Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport (ONX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport (ONX) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport (meaning Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,139 miles (19,536 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The closest airport to Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport (ONX) is Albrook "Marcos A. Gelabert" International Airport (PAC), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) SE of ONX.
• Initially established as Coco Walk Aerodrome in March 1918