Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Penang, Malaysia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Penang International Airport (PEN), Penang, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,387 miles (or 10,279 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 Penang 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 Penang 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):

• During 1952 a total of 50,000 air movements were recorded per annum, making the airfield the busiest in Europe.
• 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.
• In 1916, No. 43 Squadron was formed under the command of Major Sholto Douglas.
• 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 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.
• RAF Northolt became home to Prime Minister Winston Churchill's personal aircraft, a modified Douglas C-54 Skymaster, in June 1944.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Penang International Airport (PEN):

• Because of Penang International Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Penang 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.
• Penang International Airport (PEN) currently has only 1 runway.
• In the Mini-budget announced by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who is also the Finance Minister, on 10 March 2009, RM250 million has been allocated for the expansion of the airport.
• The closest airport to Penang International Airport (PEN) is RMAF Butterworth (BWH), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) NE of PEN.
• In addition to being known as "Penang International Airport", another name for PEN is "Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Pulau Pinang".
• The furthest airport from Penang International Airport (PEN) is Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport (PIU), which is nearly antipodal to Penang International Airport (meaning Penang International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport), and is located 12,375 miles (19,916 kilometers) away in Piura, Peru.
• Penang International Airport handled 5,487,751 passengers last year.
• There are ongoing discussions between airport operator, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, Ministry of Transportation, and Asia's largest low cost carrier, AirAsia about setting up Malaysia's third low cost carrier terminal at the airport.