Nonstop flight route between Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal and St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between João Paulo II Airport (PDL), Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal and RAF Leuchars (ADX), St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,661 miles (or 2,673 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 João Paulo II Airport and RAF Leuchars, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about João Paulo II Airport (PDL):

• Along with the airports in Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Flores, Santa Maria, Horta and Beja, the airport's concessions to provide support to civil aviation was conceded to ANA Aeroportos de Portugal on 18 December 1998, under provisions of decree 404/98.
• Because of João Paulo II Airport's relatively low elevation of 259 feet, planes can take off or land at João Paulo II 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 closest airport to João Paulo II Airport (PDL) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) SSE of PDL.
• The furthest airport from João Paulo II Airport (PDL) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to João Paulo II Airport (meaning João Paulo II Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,188 miles (19,615 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.
• João Paulo II Airport handled 928,801 passengers last year.
• João Paulo II Airport (PDL) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "João Paulo II Airport", another name for PDL is "Aeroporto João Paulo II".

Facts about RAF Leuchars (ADX):

• Like so many RAF stations, the airfield itself owes its existence to the stimulus of war, and work began on levelling the existing site on Reres Farm in 1916.
• The unit was formally named 'Royal Air Force Leuchars' in March 1920, but nevertheless retained its strong naval links.
• The furthest airport from RAF Leuchars (ADX) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,678 miles (18,793 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to RAF Leuchars (ADX) is Dundee Airport (DND), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NW of ADX.
• As the Cold War reached its frostiest depths in the 1960s the development of long range aircraft allowed the Soviets regular incursion into British air space.
• In 1954 the fixed wing aircraft had been joined by a flight of Bristol Sycamore helicopters for Search and Rescue duties.
• On 18 July 2011 Defence Secretary Liam Fox announced that RAF Leuchars would close, whilst RAF Lossiemouth in Moray would be spared as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review.
• As the Navy embraced the value of aviation, the aircraft carrier was added to its inventory.
• The other operational UK air defence base since June 2007 is RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, which operates the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4.