Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and East London, South Africa:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from NHT to ELS:
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- About this route
- NHT Airport Information
- ELS Airport Information
- Facts about NHT
- Facts about ELS
- Map of Nearest Airports to NHT
- List of Nearest Airports to NHT
- Map of Furthest Airports from NHT
- List of Furthest Airports from NHT
- Map of Nearest Airports to ELS
- List of Nearest Airports to ELS
- Map of Furthest Airports from ELS
- List of Furthest Airports from ELS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and East London Airport (ELS), East London, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,091 miles (or 9,802 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 East London 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 East London Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | NHT / EGWU |
| Airport Name: | RAF Northolt |
| Location: | Ruislip, England, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 51°33'11"N by 0°25'5"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
| View all routes: | Routes from NHT |
| More Information: | NHT Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | ELS / FAEL |
| Airport Name: | East London Airport |
| Location: | East London, South Africa |
| GPS Coordinates: | 33°2'5"S by 27°49'17"E |
| Area Served: | East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 436 feet (133 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from ELS |
| More Information: | ELS Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Northolt (NHT):
- 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.
- 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.
- During 1952 a total of 50,000 air movements were recorded per annum, making the airfield the busiest in Europe.
- On 15 September 1940 during the Battle of Britain, No. 1 Squadron RCAF, No. 229 Squadron, No.
- The overnight base of the London Air Ambulance moved to RAF Northolt from Denham Aerodrome in February 2013.
- The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
- 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.
- The outbreak of the First World War necessitated a new aerodrome for the Royal Flying Corps.
Facts about East London Airport (ELS):
- The closest airport to East London Airport (ELS) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WSW of ELS.
- Because of East London Airport's relatively low elevation of 436 feet, planes can take off or land at East London 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 1965 the airport was again moved, this time to its present site, 9 km west of the city centre.
- The airport had an inauspicious beginning in 1927, when Lieut Colonel Alistair Miller asked the East London town council to help establish a municipal aerodrome at Woodbrook, west of the city.
- East London Airport (ELS) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from East London Airport (ELS) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,569 miles (18,618 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
