Nonstop flight route between Riohacha, Colombia and Ruislip, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Almirante Padilla Airport (RCH), Riohacha, Colombia and RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,847 miles (or 7,800 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 Almirante Padilla Airport and RAF Northolt, 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 Almirante Padilla Airport and RAF Northolt. 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 Almirante Padilla Airport (RCH):

• Almirante Padilla Airport (RCH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Almirante Padilla Airport (RCH) is Christmas Island Airport (XCH), which is nearly antipodal to Almirante Padilla Airport (meaning Almirante Padilla Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Christmas Island Airport), and is located 12,317 miles (19,822 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Australia.
• The closest airport to Almirante Padilla Airport (RCH) is La Mina Airport Jorge Isaacs Airport (MCJ), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) SE of RCH.
• Because of Almirante Padilla Airport's relatively low elevation of 43 feet, planes can take off or land at Almirante Padilla 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 "Almirante Padilla Airport", another name for RCH is "Aeropuerto Almirante Padilla".

Facts about RAF Northolt (NHT):

• 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.
• Northolt pre-dates the establishment of the Royal Air Force by almost three years, having opened in May 1915.
• 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.
• 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 statue, Letter from Home, of a First World War soldier reading a letter was moved from outside Inglis Barracks in Mill Hill to RAF Northolt in June 2007.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• Civil flights ceased when the central area at Heathrow opened in 1954 with Northolt reverting to sole military use in May that year.