Nonstop flight route between Washington, D.C., United States and Akrotiri, Cyprus:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bolling Air Force Base (BOF), Washington, D.C., United States and RAF Akrotiri (AKT), Akrotiri, Cyprus would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,675 miles (or 9,134 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 Bolling Air Force Base and RAF Akrotiri, 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 Bolling Air Force Base and RAF Akrotiri. 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 Bolling Air Force Base (BOF):

• In the late 1940s, Bolling Field’s property became Naval Air Station Anacostia and a new Air Force base, named Bolling Air Force Base, was constructed just to the south on 24 June 1948.
• The furthest airport from Bolling Air Force Base (BOF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,683 miles (18,802 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Bolling AFB has served as a research and testing ground for new aviation equipment and its first mission provided aerial defense of the capital.
• The closest airport to Bolling Air Force Base (BOF) is Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), which is located only 1 miles (2 kilometers) WNW of BOF.
• Over the years, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and National Guard units, as well as DOD and federal agencies also found the installation to be an ideal place from which to operate.

Facts about RAF Akrotiri (AKT):

• In addition to being known as "RAF Akrotiri", another name for AKT is ""Aki"".
• In the mid-1980s, the US launched retaliatory attacks against Libya after the country's leader, Muammar al-Gaddafi, was implicated in terrorist attacks against US military bases.
• A constant problem of airfields located outside the territory of the country whose forces are based there is that of overflight rights.
• Due to the station's relative proximity to the Middle East, it is often used by British allies when needed, such as for casualty reception for Americans after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing and as a staging post before heading into theatres of combat in the Middle East/Persian Gulf theaters.
• The closest airport to RAF Akrotiri (AKT) is Paphos International Airport (PFO), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) WNW of AKT.
• Akrotiri, along with Nicosia, assumed a very important status, as virtually the sole means for projecting British airpower into the eastern Mediterranean, outside of aircraft carriers.
• In July 2006 RAF Akrotiri played a major role as a transit point for personnel evacuations out of Lebanon during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.
• The station commander is double-hatted and is also the officer commanding the Akrotiri or Western Sovereign Base Area, reporting to the commander of British Forces Cyprus who is also the Administrator.
• The furthest airport from RAF Akrotiri (AKT) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,556 miles (18,598 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• Akrotiri is also the winter training grounds of the RAF display team, the Red Arrows.