Nonstop flight route between Xiahe, Gansu, China and Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gannan Xiahe Airport (GXH), Xiahe, Gansu, China and RAF Lyneham (LYE), Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,939 miles (or 7,948 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 Gannan Xiahe Airport and RAF Lyneham, 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 Gannan Xiahe Airport and RAF Lyneham. 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 Gannan Xiahe Airport (GXH):

• In addition to being known as "Gannan Xiahe Airport", other names for GXH include "甘南夏河机场" and "Gānnán Xiàhé Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Gannan Xiahe Airport (GXH) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is nearly antipodal to Gannan Xiahe Airport (meaning Gannan Xiahe Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Carriel Sur International Airport), and is located 12,161 miles (19,571 kilometers) away in Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile.
• The closest airport to Gannan Xiahe Airport (GXH) is Xining Caojiabao Airport (XNN), which is located 123 miles (199 kilometers) NNW of GXH.

Facts about RAF Lyneham (LYE):

• RAF Lyneham (LYE) has 2 runways.
• The decision to close RAF Lyneham was made in 2002, and it was scheduled for closure by 2012 with all functions and aircraft relocated to RAF Brize Norton.
• Because of RAF Lyneham's relatively low elevation of 512 feet, planes can take off or land at RAF Lyneham 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 furthest airport from RAF Lyneham (LYE) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,913 miles (19,172 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• A single enemy aircraft attacked the station on 19 September 1940, dropping an incendiary and two high explosive bombs before strafing part of the airfield.
• The closest airport to RAF Lyneham (LYE) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) NE of LYE.
• 511 Squadron was formed again at RAF Lyneham on 15 December 1959, as the second squadron to operate the Bristol Britannia on long-range trooping flights.
• Royal Air Force Station Lyneham or more simply RAF Lyneham is a former Royal Air Force station located 6.3 miles north east of Chippenham, Wiltshire and 10.3 miles south west of Swindon, Wiltshire, England.
• On 14 October 1942, 511 squadron was formed from No.
• On 16 October 1946, 511 squadron was formed again as an Avro York operator.
• A ceremony, attended by the Prime Minister David Cameron, was held at RAF Brize Norton on 31 August 2011 to mark the formal transfer the role of repatriations from RAF Lyneham.