Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Anuradhapura Airport (ACJ), Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,377 miles (or 8,653 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 Anuradhapura 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 Anuradhapura 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):

• Northolt received its first gate guardian, a Spitfire F.Mk 22, in September 1963.
• Attention was high again in 2001 when Ronnie Biggs, the seriously ill, fugitive Great Train Robber, was flown from Brazil to the airfield to be arrested by waiting police officers.
• Following Louis Blériot's first flight across the English Channel in 1909, the British Army considered the necessity of defending the United Kingdom from a future air attack.
• In 1943, the station became the first to fly sorties using Supermarine Spitfire Mk IXs in German airspace in support of bomber operations.
• Northolt pre-dates the establishment of the Royal Air Force by almost three years, having opened in May 1915.
• RAF Northolt became home to Prime Minister Winston Churchill's personal aircraft, a modified Douglas C-54 Skymaster, in June 1944.
• 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 outbreak of the First World War necessitated a new aerodrome for the Royal Flying Corps.
• Thirty Allied airmen including servicemen from Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, New Zealand, Poland and the United Kingdom were killed flying from RAF Northolt during the Battle of Britain, of whom ten were Polish.
• 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.
• During the construction of Heathrow Airport, Northolt was used for commercial civil flights, becoming the busiest airport in Europe for a time and a major base for British European Airways.
• After the Battle of Britain, the station remained a base for daytime fighter operations, with No.
• Since 1 June 1998, station commanders have served as aides-de-camp to Her Majesty the Queen.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.

Facts about Anuradhapura Airport (ACJ):

• Anuradhapura Airport (ACJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Anuradhapura Airport (ACJ) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,598 miles (18,664 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• The closest airport to Anuradhapura Airport (ACJ) is China Bay Airport (TRR), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) ENE of ACJ.
• Because of Anuradhapura Airport's relatively low elevation of 292 feet, planes can take off or land at Anuradhapura 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 "Anuradhapura Airport", another name for ACJ is "අනුරාධපුර ගුවන්තොටුපළஅனுராதபுரம் விமான நிலையம்".