Nonstop flight route between Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom and Kolwezi, Lualaba District, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Lyneham (LYE), Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom and Kolwezi Airport (KWZ), Kolwezi, Lualaba District, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,606 miles (or 7,412 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 Kolwezi 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 Kolwezi 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):

• 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.
• Lyneham's first runways were constructed during 1940 and 1941, the longest being 4,375 ft, the other 3,542 ft.
• From 1958 Lyneham became one of the 18 Stations designated as dispersal airfields for the RAF's nuclear deterrent V bomber Force.
• The airfield became renowned for being the "gateway" between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan.
• The closest airport to RAF Lyneham (LYE) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) NE of LYE.
• RAF Lyneham (LYE) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• With the transfer of military units and personnel to Brize Norton complete, around 1,000 members of military and civilian staff remained on site, gradually reducing in numbers until RAF Lyneham closes entirely, on 31 December 2012.
• The station closed on 31 December 2012 with the majority of its personnel and other assets having moved to RAF Brize Norton.

Facts about Kolwezi Airport (KWZ):

• The closest airport to Kolwezi Airport (KWZ) is Solwezi Airport (SLI), which is located 113 miles (183 kilometers) SSE of KWZ.
• Because of Kolwezi Airport's high elevation of 5,007 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KWZ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KWZ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Kolwezi Airport (KWZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kolwezi Airport (KWZ) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,817 miles (19,018 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.