Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Funafuti, Tuvalu:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Funafuti International Airport (FUN), Funafuti, Tuvalu would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,464 miles (or 15,230 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 Funafuti 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 Funafuti 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):

• In 1916, No. 43 Squadron was formed under the command of Major Sholto Douglas.
• RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station in South Ruislip, 2 nautical miles from Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, west London.
• On 1 June 1960, an Avro Anson aircraft suffered engine failure soon after take-off from Northolt and crash-landed on top of the nearby Express Dairies plant in South Ruislip.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• In April 2013, the Ministry of Defence announced a proposal to increase the number of private flights from 7,000 to 12,000 per year as part of plans to increase the income generated by the airfield.
• 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.
• Civil flights ceased when the central area at Heathrow opened in 1954 with Northolt reverting to sole military use in May that year.
• The outbreak of the First World War necessitated a new aerodrome for the Royal Flying Corps.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Funafuti International Airport (FUN):

• The closest airport to Funafuti International Airport (FUN) is Arorae Island Airport (AIS), which is located 440 miles (708 kilometers) NNW of FUN.
• The furthest airport from Funafuti International Airport (FUN) is Tamale Airport (TML), which is nearly antipodal to Funafuti International Airport (meaning Funafuti International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tamale Airport), and is located 12,365 miles (19,900 kilometers) away in Tamale, Northern Region, Ghana.
• The airport is at an elevation of 9 feet above mean sea level.
• In November 2013 the World Bank approved US$6.06 million in finance for the existing Tuvalu Aviation Investment Project for the purpose of improving operational safety and oversight of international air transport and associated infrastructure at Funafuti International Airport.
• Funafuti International Airport (FUN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Funafuti International Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Funafuti 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.