Nonstop flight route between Kitwe, Zambia and Rochester, Kent, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from KIW to RCS:
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- About this route
- KIW Airport Information
- RCS Airport Information
- Facts about KIW
- Facts about RCS
- Map of Nearest Airports to KIW
- List of Nearest Airports to KIW
- Map of Furthest Airports from KIW
- List of Furthest Airports from KIW
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCS
- List of Nearest Airports to RCS
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCS
- List of Furthest Airports from RCS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Southdowns Airport (KIW), Kitwe, Zambia and Rochester Airport (RCS), Rochester, Kent, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,740 miles (or 7,628 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 Rochester Airport, 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 Rochester Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | KIW / FLSO |
Airport Name: | Southdowns Airport |
Location: | Kitwe, Zambia |
GPS Coordinates: | 12°54'1"S by 28°8'58"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 4145 feet (1,263 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from KIW |
More Information: | KIW Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCS / EGTO |
Airport Name: | Rochester Airport |
Location: | Rochester, Kent, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°21'6"N by 0°30'10"E |
Operator/Owner: | Rochester Airport Ltd. |
Airport Type: | Private |
Elevation: | 426 feet (130 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from RCS |
More Information: | RCS Maps & Info |
Facts about Southdowns Airport (KIW):
- Southdowns Airport (KIW) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Southdowns Airport (KIW) is Kasompe Airport (CGJ), which is located 28 miles (46 kilometers) NW of KIW.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Rochester Airport (RCS):
- The closest airport to Rochester Airport (RCS) is London Southend Airport (SEN), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) NNE of RCS.
- Rochester Airport (RCS) has 3 runways.
- An invitation to tender was issued and the existing operator became the preferred bidder after the closing date of 12 March 2013.
- In 1934-5 Short Brothers took over the Rochester Airport site when they moved some of their personnel from the existing seaplane works.
- Shorts concentrated their work in Belfast, leaving the Medway towns in 1946.
- Because of Rochester Airport's relatively low elevation of 426 feet, planes can take off or land at Rochester 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.
- Rochester airport was bombed heavily during the war by a wing of Dornier Do 17s on 15 August 1940.
- The furthest airport from Rochester Airport (RCS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,897 miles (19,146 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.