Nonstop flight route between Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom and Bunia, Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Lyneham (LYE), Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom and Bunia Airport (BUX), Bunia, Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,923 miles (or 6,314 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 RAF Lyneham and Bunia 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 RAF Lyneham and Bunia Airport. 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 RAF Lyneham (LYE):

• RAF Lyneham received the first of 25 brand-new Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules on 23 November 1999, to be operated by Nos.
• RAF Lyneham was the Royal Air Force's principal Transport hub, operating the modern Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules, and the aging, but very adaptable, Lockheed C-130K Hercules.
• Lyneham's first runways were constructed during 1940 and 1941, the longest being 4,375 ft, the other 3,542 ft.
• 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.
• On 16 October 1946, 511 squadron was formed again as an Avro York operator.
• The airfield became renowned for being the "gateway" between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan.
• 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 closest airport to RAF Lyneham (LYE) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) NE of LYE.
• 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.
• 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.
• RAF Lyneham (LYE) has 2 runways.

Facts about Bunia Airport (BUX):

• Because of Bunia Airport's high elevation of 4,045 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BUX. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BUX a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Bunia Airport (BUX) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,859 miles (19,085 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• The closest airport to Bunia Airport (BUX) is Beni Airport (BNC), which is located 86 miles (138 kilometers) SW of BUX.
• Bunia Airport (BUX) currently has only 1 runway.