Nonstop flight route between Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Goma Airport (GOM), Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo and RAF Ascension (ASI), Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,033 miles (or 4,882 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 Goma 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 Goma 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 Goma Airport (GOM):

• Because of Goma Airport's high elevation of 5,089 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GOM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GOM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Goma International Airport is an airport serving Goma, a city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Initially built with a paved 3 km runway and a large terminal and apron, the airport has not recovered from the 2002 eruption of the volcano Nyiragongo, 14 km to the north.
• At 17:55 local time on 4 March 2013, a Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation Fokker 50 from Lodja crashed short of landing in heavy rain, into a residential area.
• The furthest airport from Goma Airport (GOM) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,981 miles (19,282 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• The closest airport to Goma Airport (GOM) is Gisenyi Airport (GYI), which is located only 2 miles (2 kilometers) ESE of GOM.
• Goma Airport (GOM) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about RAF Ascension (ASI):

• Wideawake Airfield was a US installation built in 1943 by arrangement with the British government.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Ascension", another name for ASI is "Wideawake Airbase/Field".
• The closest airport to RAF Ascension (ASI) is Sasstown Airport (SAZ), which is located 965 miles (1,553 kilometers) NNE of ASI.
• RAF Ascension Island was re-garrisoned by the RAF in 1982 and used extensively as a staging base during the Falklands War.
• Ascension serves as a diversion airport for ETOPS aircraft crossing the Atlantic.
• 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.
• 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.