Nonstop flight route between Boma, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ruislip, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Boma Airport (BOA), Boma, Democratic Republic of the Congo and RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,046 miles (or 6,511 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 Boma Airport and RAF Northolt, 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 Boma Airport and RAF Northolt. 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 Boma Airport (BOA):

• The furthest airport from Boma Airport (BOA) is Canton Island Airport (CIS), which is located 11,756 miles (18,920 kilometers) away in Canton Island, Kiribati.
• Because of Boma Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Boma 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 closest airport to Boma Airport (BOA) is Tshimpi Airport (Matadi Airport) (MAT), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) E of BOA.

Facts about RAF Northolt (NHT):

• During 1952 a total of 50,000 air movements were recorded per annum, making the airfield the busiest in Europe.
• In 1916, No. 43 Squadron was formed under the command of Major Sholto Douglas.
• Northolt became an active base during the Second World War for Royal Air Force and Polish Air Force squadrons in their defence of the United Kingdom.
• Thirty Allied airmen including servicemen from Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, New Zealand, Poland and the United Kingdom were killed flying from RAF Northolt during the Battle of Britain, of whom ten were Polish.
• Attention was high again in 2001 when Ronnie Biggs, the seriously ill, fugitive Great Train Robber, was flown from Brazil to the airfield to be arrested by waiting police officers.
• The furthest airport from RAF Northolt (NHT) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,871 miles (19,105 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Much media attention focused on the airfield when the body of Diana, Princess of Wales, arrived there from Villacoublay airfield, in Paris, France, after her death in a car crash in the city on 31 August 1997.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• The statue, Letter from Home, of a First World War soldier reading a letter was moved from outside Inglis Barracks in Mill Hill to RAF Northolt in June 2007.
• Civil flights ceased when the central area at Heathrow opened in 1954 with Northolt reverting to sole military use in May that year.