Nonstop flight route between Comiso, Italy and Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Comiso Airport (CIY), Comiso, Italy and RAF Ascension (ASI), Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,629 miles (or 5,841 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 Comiso 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 Comiso 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 Comiso Airport (CIY):

• The furthest airport from Comiso Airport (CIY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,689 miles (18,812 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• It became one of several key aerodromes in southern Sicily during World War II.
• The closest airport to Comiso Airport (CIY) is Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) NNE of CIY.
• In the late 1990s, Comiso was used for the Rainbow Mission, to house 5,000 Kosovars during the war in former Yugoslavia.
• Because of Comiso Airport's relatively low elevation of 620 feet, planes can take off or land at Comiso 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.
• In addition to being known as "Comiso Airport", another name for CIY is "Aeroporto di Comiso".
• Comiso Airport (CIY) currently has only 1 runway.
• From 1983 to 1991 Comiso Air Base was the largest NATO base in southern Europe and housed 112 BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missiles,.
• During the Cold War, on August 7, 1981 it was officially selected as the second European main operating base for BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missiles, deployed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in response to the development and deployment of new intercontinental and intermediate range missiles by the Soviet Union.
• Refurbishment work to reactivate the airport started in 2004 and was completed during the winter of 2008.
• During the summer of 1983, three large anti-nuclear demonstrations, largely funded by the Communist Party, were conducted around the base perimeter, with as many as 5,000 protesters at the events in late July, August and September.

Facts about RAF Ascension (ASI):

• The Target Tracking Radar Station was a Nike Zeus test facility for tracking reentry vehicles from Cape Canaveral missile launches.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Ascension", another name for ASI is "Wideawake Airbase/Field".
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Ascension (ASI) is Sasstown Airport (SAZ), which is located 965 miles (1,553 kilometers) NNE of ASI.