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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Yiwu Airport (YIW), Yiwu, Zhejiang, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,743 miles (or 9,242 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 Yiwu 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 Yiwu 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):

• 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.
• Opened in 1938, it is currently a non-flying facility under the control of the United States Air Force.
• In late 1940/41, an expansion of RAF Alconbury commenced to upgrade its facilities from a satellite airfield to a fully operational one.
• The total area of land occupied by RAF Alconbury in 1942 was about 500 acres with 100 acres taken up by concrete and buildings.
• 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.
• During the Second World War, it was controlled by the USAAF Eighth Air Force, from 23 February 1944 to 7 August 1945 the United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe, thereafter the United States Air Forces in Europe,
• The closest airport to RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ESE of AYH.
• 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 group comprises six squadrons—security forces and civil engineer, air base, medical and services—and supports tenant units.

Facts about Yiwu Airport (YIW):

• Yiwu airport was originally a military training airfield for the People's Liberation Army Navy.
• Yiwu Airport (YIW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Yiwu Airport (YIW) is Reconquista Airport (RCQ), which is nearly antipodal to Yiwu Airport (meaning Yiwu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Reconquista Airport), and is located 12,417 miles (19,983 kilometers) away in Reconquista, Santa Fe, Argentina.
• In addition to being known as "Yiwu Airport", other names for YIW include "义乌机场" and "Yìwū Jīchǎng".
• Yiwu Airport handled 761,938 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Yiwu Airport (YIW) is Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) NNE of YIW.