Nonstop flight route between Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom and Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Belfast International Airport (BFS), Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom and RAF Ascension (ASI), Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,353 miles (or 7,006 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 Belfast International Airport and RAF Ascension, 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 Belfast International Airport and RAF Ascension. 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 Belfast International Airport (BFS):

• By the 1950s civil air traffic had outstripped the facilities at Nutts Corner and, in addition, aircraft were being regularly diverted to Aldergrove because of adverse weather conditions.
• Because of Belfast International Airport's relatively low elevation of 268 feet, planes can take off or land at Belfast 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 airport was privatised in 1994.
• Despite these additional flights, passengers at Belfast International did not rise beyond 6 million in 2008 as some had predicted but in fact fell by 10,000 passengers to 5.2 million.
• Belfast International Airport handled 4,023,336 passengers last year.
• A new International Pier was built together with lounge facilities and car parks, while an additional apron was provided to separate the smaller general aviation aircraft from large commercial jets.
• The furthest airport from Belfast International Airport (BFS) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,847 miles (19,065 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• The airport is owned by ADC & HAS, the same company which owns Stockholm Skavsta, Orlando Sanford International Airport, Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport, Mariscal Sucre International Airport & Juan Santamaría International Airport.
• Belfast International Airport (BFS) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Belfast International Airport", another name for BFS is "Belfast/Aldergrove Airport".
• The closest airport to Belfast International Airport (BFS) is George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) E of BFS.

Facts about RAF Ascension (ASI):

• The RAF presence on Ascension is backed up by United States Air Force personnel, who contribute a similar number of service personnel to ensure the effective running of the station, under the command of Captain Eduard Rodriguez, who is responsible to the RAF Station Commander.
• In 1939 Ascension became important as a HF/DF radio station covering trade routes.
• The closest airport to RAF Ascension (ASI) is Sasstown Airport (SAZ), which is located 965 miles (1,553 kilometers) NNE of ASI.
• RAF Ascension Island is also the refuelling point for the Ministry of Defence's South Atlantic Air Bridge flights to RAF Mount Pleasant, on the Falkland Islands, from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, in the UK.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Ascension", another name for ASI is "Wideawake Airbase/Field".
• Wideawake Airfield was a US installation built in 1943 by arrangement with the British government.
• The furthest airport from RAF Ascension (ASI) is Ujae Airport (UJE), which is nearly antipodal to RAF Ascension (meaning RAF Ascension is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ujae Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Ujae Atoll, Marshall Islands.