Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Fiumicino (near Rome), Italy:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Fiumicino – Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (FCO), Fiumicino (near Rome), Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 900 miles (or 1,448 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 RAF Northolt and Fiumicino – Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about RAF Northolt (NHT):

• The outbreak of the First World War necessitated a new aerodrome for the Royal Flying Corps.
• Starting in 1946 the airfield was used by civil aviation during the construction of nearby Heathrow Airport.
• 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.
• In 1943, the station became the first to fly sorties using Supermarine Spitfire Mk IXs in German airspace in support of bomber operations.
• Since 1 June 1998, station commanders have served as aides-de-camp to Her Majesty the Queen.

Facts about Fiumicino – Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (FCO):

• In 2009, the terminals were renamed — A was renamed T1, AA was renamed T2, B and C became T3 and T5 stayed the same.
• From the 1960s until the 1980s, the airport experienced significant aircraft hijackings as well as being the scene of two major terrorist attacks and the port of origin for an aircraft bombing in flight—some engendered by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
• The furthest airport from Fiumicino – Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (FCO) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,975 miles (19,272 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Fiumicino – Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (FCO) has 4 runways.
• Security Services transferred from the Polizia di Stato to Aeroporti di Roma in 2000.
• Fiumicino – Leonardo da Vinci International Airport handled 36,166,345 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Fiumicino – Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (FCO) is Ciampino–G. B. Pastine International Airport (CIA), which is located only 18 miles (30 kilometers) E of FCO.
• Because of Fiumicino – Leonardo da Vinci International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Fiumicino – Leonardo da Vinci 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.
• In addition to being known as "Fiumicino – Leonardo da Vinci International Airport", another name for FCO is "Fiumicino – Aeroporto Internazionale Leonardo da Vinci".
• The airport was officially opened on 15 January 1961, with two runways, replacing the smaller Rome Ciampino Airport, which remains in service for some low cost airlines as well as domestic and charter operations.