Nonstop flight route between Kitwe, Zambia and Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Southdowns Airport (KIW), Kitwe, Zambia and RMAF Butterworth (BWH), Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,117 miles (or 8,235 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 Southdowns 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 Southdowns 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 Southdowns Airport (KIW):

• Because of Southdowns Airport's high elevation of 4,145 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KIW. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KIW a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Southdowns Airport (KIW) is Kasompe Airport (CGJ), which is located 28 miles (46 kilometers) NW of KIW.
• Southdowns Airport (KIW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Southdowns Airport (KIW) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,920 miles (19,184 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.

Facts about RMAF Butterworth (BWH):

• The closest airport to RMAF Butterworth (BWH) is RMAF Butterworth (UTE), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of BWH.
• 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.
• RMAF Butterworth is an Air Force Station of the Royal Malaysian Air Force situated 4.5 nautical miles from Butterworth in the state of Penang, directly opposite the island itself.
• RMAF Butterworth (BWH) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• On 30 June 1988, the airfield was handed over by RAAF to the Royal Malaysian Air Force and was renamed as RMAF Station Butterworth.
• The furthest airport from RMAF Butterworth (BWH) 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.
• In addition to being known as "RMAF Butterworth", another name for BWH is "TUDM Butterworth".