Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Apia, Upolu Island, Samoa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Faleolo International Airport (APW), Apia, Upolu Island, Samoa would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,789 miles (or 15,753 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 Faleolo International 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 Faleolo International 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):

• Starting in 1946 the airfield was used by civil aviation during the construction of nearby Heathrow Airport.
• Group Captain Tom Barrett, appointed station commander in September 2009 and the final station commander of neighbouring RAF Uxbridge, died on 10 March 2011 following a road traffic accident on the A40.Wing Commander Jules Stilwell paid tribute to Group Captain Barrett, saying, "Tom was an extraordinary person.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• 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.
• RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station in South Ruislip, 2 nautical miles from Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, west London.
• The outbreak of the First World War necessitated a new aerodrome for the Royal Flying Corps.
• 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.

Facts about Faleolo International Airport (APW):

• Faleolo International Airport (APW) currently has only 1 runway.
• Small turboprop aircraft connect American and independent Samoa.
• Faleolo Tower has some jurisdiction over the airspace of American Samoa and Tonga as well as its own airspace.
• The furthest airport from Faleolo International Airport (APW) is Maradi Airport (MFQ), which is nearly antipodal to Faleolo International Airport (meaning Faleolo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maradi Airport), and is located 12,373 miles (19,913 kilometers) away in Maradi, Niger.
• Because of Faleolo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 58 feet, planes can take off or land at Faleolo International 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.
• Until 1984, Faleolo could not accommodate jets larger than a Boeing 737.
• The closest airport to Faleolo International Airport (APW) is Maota (Salelologa) Airport (MXS), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) WNW of APW.