Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Vancouver International Airport (YVR), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,665 miles (or 7,508 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 Vancouver 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 Vancouver 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):

• The host unit at RAF Alconbury is the 423rd Air Base Group which supplies host unit services for Alconbury as well as RAF Molesworth.
• The group comprises six squadrons—security forces and civil engineer, air base, medical and services—and supports tenant units.
• RAF Alconbury is also the home of the 501st Combat Support Wing.
• 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 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.
• During this period, RAF Alconbury consisted of a few wooden huts but plans were made to provide both refuelling and rearmament facilities.
• In late 1940/41, an expansion of RAF Alconbury commenced to upgrade its facilities from a satellite airfield to a fully operational one.
• In October 1941 two of its flights with 16 Wellingtons were dispatched to operate from Malta, supposedly on an emergency detachment.

Facts about Vancouver International Airport (YVR):

• Features that have been implemented throughout the Vancouver Airport to aid those with hearing loss include a public address system that is designed to reduce noise pollution for those with hearing aids.
• Vancouver Airport also has numerous features that have been implemented to assist visually impaired travellers.
• The closest airport to Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is Vancouver Harbour Water Airport (CXH), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) NNE of YVR.
• The furthest airport from Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,685 miles (17,196 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Also recently completed was a five-gate and food and retail expansion in the Domestic Terminal's C-Pier, completed in 2009, and the Canada Line rapid transit link between YVR, Richmond and downtown Vancouver, which opened in August 2009.
• The South Terminal houses the corporate headquarters of Pacific Coastal Airlines.
• Because of Vancouver International Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Vancouver 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.
• Vancouver International Airport (YVR) has 3 runways.