Nonstop flight route between Lyon, France and Braintree, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport (LYS), Lyon, France and MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF), Braintree, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 479 miles (or 771 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 relatively short distance between Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport and MDPGA Wethersfield, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport (LYS):

• The airport was inaugurated by President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing on 12 April 1975 and opened to passengers a week later.
• Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport (LYS) has 2 runways.
• Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport handled 8,451,039 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport", another name for LYS is "Aéroport Lyon-Saint Exupéry".
• In 1994 the LGV Rhône-Alpes high-speed rail line brought TGV service to the airport, providing direct trains to Paris and Marseille.
• The furthest airport from Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport (LYS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport (meaning Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,284 miles (19,770 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport's relatively low elevation of 821 feet, planes can take off or land at Lyon–Saint Exupéry 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 2013, the airport served 8,562,298 passengers, an increase of 1.3% over the previous year.
• The closest airport to Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport (LYS) is Lyon–Bron Airport (LYN), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) W of LYS.
• Since 1997, the airport has been a focus city for the airline Air France.

Facts about MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF):

• The furthest airport from MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,856 miles (19,080 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The 66th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Upper Heyford was inactivated and elements were moved to Wethersfield.
• The closest airport to MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is London Stansted Airport (STN), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) WSW of WXF.
• MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) has 3 runways.
• The 819th, along with the 2166th Communications Squadron, were the main units at Wethersfeld until the USAF returned the base to the British in 1990 due to budget cutbacks.
• In June 1955 the 20th FBW started receiving the F-84F "Thunderstreak" in addition to its F-84Ds and F-84Gs.
• In addition to being known as "MDPGA Wethersfield", another name for WXF is "RAF Wethersfield".
• During the late 1940s the base was used as a winter camping ground for Chipperfield's Circus.
• In 1978 the British and American Governments agreed to establish a Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers unit in the UK.
• Because of MDPGA Wethersfield's relatively low elevation of 322 feet, planes can take off or land at MDPGA Wethersfield 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.
• Soon after the Americans departed for France, Wethersfield was returned to RAF control, becoming the home for 196 and 299 Squadrons, 38 Group, RAF Bomber Command.