Nonstop flight route between Edinburgh, United Kingdom and Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edinburgh Airport (EDI), Edinburgh, United Kingdom and RAF Ascension (ASI), Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,461 miles (or 7,180 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 Edinburgh 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 Edinburgh 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 Edinburgh Airport (EDI):

• £250m is to be spent on the airport over the next decade.
• The airport is owned and operated by Global Infrastructure Partners, which also owns and operates Gatwick Airport and London City Airport.
• Edinburgh Airport (EDI) has 2 runways.
• Lothian Buses provide public transportation to the airport with the Airlink 100 express bus from Edinburgh city centre, as well as the number 35 direct to Ocean Terminal and N22 with the same destination but alternative route.
• The furthest airport from Edinburgh Airport (EDI) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,713 miles (18,850 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Because of Edinburgh Airport's relatively low elevation of 136 feet, planes can take off or land at Edinburgh 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 Edinburgh Airport (EDI) is Perth Airport (PSL), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) N of EDI.
• In 2013 a further extension to the passenger terminal was announced, taking the terminal building up to the Edinburgh Airport tram stop.
• Edinburgh Airport handled 9,775,443 passengers last year.
• The only international services from Edinburgh during the 1980s were to Amsterdam and Dublin, but in the following years links were opened to destinations in France and Germany.
• In 1952 the runway was extended to 6000 ft to handle the Vampire FB5s operated by the based 603 Squadron.

Facts about RAF Ascension (ASI):

• The NASA Tracking Station at Devil's Ashpit and the Cable & Wireless Earth Station at Donkey Plain were built in the "mid-sixties" for space operations and communications, including the latter's use for transmitting "microwave borne data via the Early Bird Satellite back to the NASA facility at Andover, Maine.
• 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.
• In 1939 Ascension became important as a HF/DF radio station covering trade routes.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Ascension", another name for ASI is "Wideawake Airbase/Field".
• Ascension serves as a diversion airport for ETOPS aircraft crossing the Atlantic.
• The station comes under the overall jurisdiction of the Commander British Forces South Atlantic Islands, an officer of one-star rank.
• 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 closest airport to RAF Ascension (ASI) is Sasstown Airport (SAZ), which is located 965 miles (1,553 kilometers) NNE of ASI.