Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Trincomalee, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and China Bay Airport (TRR), Trincomalee, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,397 miles (or 8,685 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 China Bay 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 China Bay 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):

• Construction of the new aerodrome, to be named "RFC Military School, Ruislip", began in January 1915.
• RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station in South Ruislip, 2 nautical miles from Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, west London.
• Four Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft arrived at the station from RAF Coningsby on 2 May 2012 to take part in a security exercise as part of preparations for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
• RAF Northolt became home to Prime Minister Winston Churchill's personal aircraft, a modified Douglas C-54 Skymaster, in June 1944.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• Northolt pre-dates the establishment of the Royal Air Force by almost three years, having opened in May 1915.
• Northolt became an active base during the Second World War for Royal Air Force and Polish Air Force squadrons in their defence of the United Kingdom.
• In August 1996, a Spanish Learjet operated by Mar Aviation overshot runway 25 and collided with a van heading eastward on the A40 Western Avenue.
• Civil flights ceased when the central area at Heathrow opened in 1954 with Northolt reverting to sole military use in May that year.
• 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.

Facts about China Bay Airport (TRR):

• The closest airport to China Bay Airport (TRR) is Anuradhapura Airport (ACJ), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) WSW of TRR.
• China Bay Airport (TRR) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of China Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at China Bay 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.
• The furthest airport from China Bay Airport (TRR) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,625 miles (18,709 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• During the 1920s the British built an airfield in China Bay in eastern Ceylon.
• After independence, the British maintained two military airfields in Ceylon, the Royal Air Force station at RAF Katunayake and the naval base in Trincomalee, and camps at Diyatalawa.
• In addition to being known as "China Bay Airport", another name for TRR is "சீனக்குடா விமான நிலையம்චීන වරාය ගුවන්තොටුපළ".