Nonstop flight route between Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia and Akrotiri, Cyprus:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kempsey Airport (KPS), Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia and RAF Akrotiri (AKT), Akrotiri, Cyprus would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,984 miles (or 14,459 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 Kempsey Airport and RAF Akrotiri, 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 Kempsey Airport and RAF Akrotiri. 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 Kempsey Airport (KPS):

• The closest airport to Kempsey Airport (KPS) is Port Macquarie Airport (PQQ), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) SSE of KPS.
• Kempsey Airport (KPS) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Kempsey Airport (KPS) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Kempsey Airport (meaning Kempsey Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,013 miles (19,332 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• Because of Kempsey Airport's relatively low elevation of 54 feet, planes can take off or land at Kempsey 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.

Facts about RAF Akrotiri (AKT):

• Akrotiri was first constructed in the mid-1950s to relieve pressure on the main RAF station on the island, RAF Nicosia.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Akrotiri", another name for AKT is ""Aki"".
• Akrotiri has played a crucial role during Britain's recent operations in the Middle East.
• In September 1976 the US U-2 operations were turned over to the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, but the U-2 operation at RAF Akrotiri continued to be called Operating Location OH until September 1980.
• The station commander is double-hatted and is also the officer commanding the Akrotiri or Western Sovereign Base Area, reporting to the commander of British Forces Cyprus who is also the Administrator.
• In March 2011, the station was used as a staging base for support aircraft involved in Operation Ellamy.
• The closest airport to RAF Akrotiri (AKT) is Paphos International Airport (PFO), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) WNW of AKT.
• Due to the station's relative proximity to the Middle East, it is often used by British allies when needed, such as for casualty reception for Americans after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing and as a staging post before heading into theatres of combat in the Middle East/Persian Gulf theaters.
• The furthest airport from RAF Akrotiri (AKT) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,556 miles (18,598 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• The U-2s of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing were used in Operation Cedar Sweep to fly surveillance over Lebanon, relaying information about Hezbollah militants to Lebanese authorities, and in Operation Highland Warrior to fly surveillance over Turkey and northern Iraq to relay information to Turkish authorities.