Nonstop flight route between Carlisle, England, United Kingdom and Butterworth, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Carlisle Lake District Airport (CAX), Carlisle, England, United Kingdom and RMAF Butterworth (UTE), Butterworth, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,427 miles (or 10,343 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 Carlisle Lake District Airport and RMAF Butterworth, 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 Carlisle Lake District Airport and RMAF Butterworth. 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 Carlisle Lake District Airport (CAX):

• In the early 1930s, Cumbria County Council opened Kingstown Municipal Airport, at the time outside the borough boundaries which later became the RAF Kingstown and is now Kingstown or Kingmoor Industrial estate.
• Carlisle Lake District Airport (CAX) has 2 runways.
• As the airport had lost £3.5 million on operations between 1979 and 1994, Carlisle City Council agreed to sell the airport on a 150 year lease to Haughey Airports in 2000.
• The closest airport to Carlisle Lake District Airport (CAX) is Newcastle Airport (NCL), which is located 45 miles (72 kilometers) E of CAX.
• The furthest airport from Carlisle Lake District Airport (CAX) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,756 miles (18,919 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Subject to planning approval by Carlisle City Council, Aer Arann hope to commence a link from Carlisle Lake District Airport to Stobart Air's other base at London Southend Airport and to Dublin, basing an ATR42 aircraft at Carlisle.
• In January 2009, Stobart Group's subsidiary, Stobart Airports Ltd, exercised its option to acquire Carlisle Lake District Airport from Stobart Air Holdings for £14 million.
• Because of Carlisle Lake District Airport's relatively low elevation of 190 feet, planes can take off or land at Carlisle Lake District 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.

Facts about RMAF Butterworth (UTE):

• RMAF Butterworth (UTE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to RMAF Butterworth (UTE) is RMAF Butterworth (BWH), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of UTE.
• In 1957, the RAF closed the station and it was transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force and it was promptly renamed as RAAF Station Butterworth, becoming the home to numerous Australian fighter and bomber squadrons stationed in Malaya during the Cold War era.
• The furthest airport from RMAF Butterworth (UTE) is Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport (PIU), which is nearly antipodal to RMAF Butterworth (meaning RMAF Butterworth is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport), and is located 12,365 miles (19,900 kilometers) away in Piura, Peru.
• Because of RMAF Butterworth's relatively low elevation of 8 feet, planes can take off or land at RMAF Butterworth 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.
• In addition to being known as "RMAF Butterworth", other names for UTE include "TUDM Butterworth", "BWH" and "WMKB".
• During the Malayan Emergency that was to last from 1948 to 1960, RAF as well as RAAF and RNZAF units stationed at the airfield played an active role from 1950 in helping to curb the communist insurgency in the jungles of Malaya by attacking suspected hideouts and harassing the communist guerrillas.