Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Tôlanaro, Madagascar:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), Tôlanaro, Madagascar would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,020 miles (or 9,689 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 Tôlanaro 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 Tôlanaro 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):

• During 1952 a total of 50,000 air movements were recorded per annum, making the airfield the busiest in Europe.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• RAF Northolt became home to Prime Minister Winston Churchill's personal aircraft, a modified Douglas C-54 Skymaster, in June 1944.
• Northolt pre-dates the establishment of the Royal Air Force by almost three years, having opened in May 1915.
• The remains of a Hawker Hurricane flown by Flying Officer Ludwik Witold Paszkiewicz, the first pilot in No. 303 Squadron to shoot down an enemy aircraft, were donated to the station in June 2008.

Facts about Tôlanaro Airport (FTU):

• The furthest airport from Tôlanaro Airport (FTU) is Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), which is located 11,435 miles (18,402 kilometers) away in Lompoc, California, United States.
• Tôlanaro Airport (FTU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Tôlanaro Airport (FTU) is Ampanihy Airport (AMP), which is located 141 miles (227 kilometers) W of FTU.
• Because of Tôlanaro Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Tôlanaro 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 "Tôlanaro Airport", another name for FTU is "Marillac Airport".