Nonstop flight route between Lympne, Kent, England, United Kingdom and Lifuka, Ha'apai, Tonga:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lympne Airport (LYM), Lympne, Kent, England, United Kingdom and Lifuka Island Airport (HPA), Lifuka, Ha'apai, Tonga would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,259 miles (or 16,510 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 Lympne Airport and Lifuka Island 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 Lympne Airport and Lifuka Island 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 Lympne Airport (LYM):

• In April 1935, Air Traffic Control in the United Kingdom was improved by the introduction of a new control zone system.
• On 1 August 1931, the 601 Squadron AuxAF began its annual camp at Lympne.
• Because of Lympne Airport's relatively low elevation of 351 feet, planes can take off or land at Lympne 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.
• In addition to being known as "Lympne Airport", another name for LYM is "Ashford Airport".
• The closest airport to Lympne Airport (LYM) is Lydd International Airport (LYX), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SSW of LYM.
• Lympne was also involved in the evolution of air traffic control, with facilities developing and improving during the 1920s and 1930s.
• Lympne Airport /ˈlɪm/, was a military and later civil airfield, at Lympne, Kent, United Kingdom, which operated from 1916 to 1984.
• From 1–31 May 1924, the Royal Air Force conducted a number of night flying experiments.
• Lympne Airport (LYM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Lympne Airport (LYM) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,921 miles (19,184 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In 1941, Lympne was to be the destination for the landing of an aircraft carrying Adolf Hitler in a daring kidnap plot.

Facts about Lifuka Island Airport (HPA):

• In addition to being known as "Lifuka Island Airport", another name for HPA is "Salote Pilolevu Airport".
• Because of Lifuka Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 31 feet, planes can take off or land at Lifuka Island 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 Lifuka Island Airport (HPA) is Fuaʻamotu International Airport (TBU), which is located 114 miles (183 kilometers) SSW of HPA.
• Lifuka Island Airport (HPA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Lifuka Island Airport (HPA) is In Guezzam Airport (INF), which is nearly antipodal to Lifuka Island Airport (meaning Lifuka Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from In Guezzam Airport), and is located 12,421 miles (19,989 kilometers) away in In Guezzam, Algeria.