Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Aranuka, Kiribati:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Aranuka Airport (AAK), Aranuka, Kiribati would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,845 miles (or 14,235 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 Northolt and Aranuka 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 Northolt and Aranuka 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 Northolt (NHT):

• On 1 June 1960, an Avro Anson aircraft suffered engine failure soon after take-off from Northolt and crash-landed on top of the nearby Express Dairies plant in South Ruislip.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• Northolt received its first gate guardian, a Spitfire F.Mk 22, in September 1963.
• Starting in 1946 the airfield was used by civil aviation during the construction of nearby Heathrow Airport.
• Much media attention focused on the airfield when the body of Diana, Princess of Wales, arrived there from Villacoublay airfield, in Paris, France, after her death in a car crash in the city on 31 August 1997.
• The furthest airport from RAF Northolt (NHT) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,871 miles (19,105 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Northolt became an active base during the Second World War for Royal Air Force and Polish Air Force squadrons in their defence of the United Kingdom.
• In January 2012, it was reported that the future of station was under review by the Ministry of Defence as part of efforts to reduce defence spending.
• RAF Northolt became home to Prime Minister Winston Churchill's personal aircraft, a modified Douglas C-54 Skymaster, in June 1944.
• In December 1946, after taking off during a heavy snowstorm, a Douglas DC-3 operated by British European Airways, flying from Northolt to Glasgow, crashed onto the roof of a house in South Ruislip.

Facts about Aranuka Airport (AAK):

• Because of Aranuka Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Aranuka 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 furthest airport from Aranuka Airport (AAK) is Cape Palmas Airport (CPA), which is nearly antipodal to Aranuka Airport (meaning Aranuka Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cape Palmas Airport), and is located 12,108 miles (19,486 kilometers) away in Cape Palmas, Liberia.
• The closest airport to Aranuka Airport (AAK) is Abemama Atoll Airport (AEA), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NNE of AAK.