Nonstop flight route between Nakhon Phanom, Thailand and Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nakhon Phanom Airport (KOP), Nakhon Phanom, Thailand and RAF Ascension (ASI), Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,292 miles (or 13,344 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 Nakhon Phanom 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 Nakhon Phanom 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 Nakhon Phanom Airport (KOP):

• Because of Nakhon Phanom Airport's relatively low elevation of 587 feet, planes can take off or land at Nakhon Phanom 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 Nakhon Phanom Airport (KOP) is Savannakhet Airport (ZVK), which is located 58 miles (93 kilometers) S of KOP.
• In addition to being known as "Nakhon Phanom Airport", another name for KOP is "ท่าอากาศยานนครพนม".
• Nakhon Phanom Airport (KOP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Nakhon Phanom Airport (KOP) is Maria Reiche Neuman Airport (NZC), which is nearly antipodal to Nakhon Phanom Airport (meaning Nakhon Phanom Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maria Reiche Neuman Airport), and is located 12,260 miles (19,731 kilometers) away in Nazca, Ica Region, Peru.

Facts about RAF Ascension (ASI):

• 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.
• Ascension Island Auxiliary Field was being built by 181 men from Saint Helena by 1957
• The closest airport to RAF Ascension (ASI) is Sasstown Airport (SAZ), which is located 965 miles (1,553 kilometers) NNE of ASI.
• The RAF presence on Ascension is backed up by United States Air Force personnel, who contribute a similar number of service personnel to ensure the effective running of the station, under the command of Captain Eduard Rodriguez, who is responsible to the RAF Station Commander.
• The Target Tracking Radar Station was a Nike Zeus test facility for tracking reentry vehicles from Cape Canaveral missile launches.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Ascension", another name for ASI is "Wideawake Airbase/Field".
• 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.