Nonstop flight route between Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Nikkō / Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Utsunomiya Air Field (QUT), Nikkō / Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,909 miles (or 9,509 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 Brize Norton and Utsunomiya Air Field, 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 Brize Norton and Utsunomiya Air Field. 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 Brize Norton (BZZ):

• By the end of June 2011 all flying units from RAF Lyneham had moved to RAF Brize Norton.
• The closest airport to RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WSW of BZZ.
• Following the Falklands War, the RAF found itself lacking in the strategic transport capabilities required to sustain the expanded military presence there.
• The furthest airport from RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,888 miles (19,132 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Major infrastructure redevelopment began in 2010 ahead of the closure of RAF Lyneham in 2012, at which point Brize Norton became the sole air point of embarkation for British troops.
• RAF Brize Norton Flying Club resides at the station providing low cost flying for MOD personnel and training to PPL level and above.
• To accommodate this expansion, a major infrastructure redevelopment, "Programme Future Brize" was established in 2009.
• The station is home to Air Transport, Air-to-Air refuelling and Military Parachuting, with aircraft operating from the station including the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, Boeing C-17 Globemaster III and Airbus A330 MRTT Voyager which replaced the now decommissioned Lockheed TriStar in March 2014.
• A peace camp was held at the station from 21 to 25 April 2005, along with a demonstration in nearby Carterton.

Facts about Utsunomiya Air Field (QUT):

• Because of Utsunomiya Air Field's relatively low elevation of 334 feet, planes can take off or land at Utsunomiya Air Field 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.
• Utsunomiya Air Field (QUT) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Utsunomiya Air Field", other names for QUT include "宇都宮飛行場" and "Utsunomiya Hikōjō".
• The furthest airport from Utsunomiya Air Field (QUT) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,685 miles (18,806 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Utsunomiya Air Field (QUT) is Fukushima Airport (FKS), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NNE of QUT.