Nonstop flight route between Rochester, Kent, England, United Kingdom and Lugano, Agno, Switzerland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rochester Airport (RCS), Rochester, Kent, England, United Kingdom and Lugano Airport (LUG), Lugano, Agno, Switzerland would travel a Great Circle distance of 532 miles (or 856 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 Rochester Airport and Lugano Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Rochester Airport (RCS):

• Short Brothers continued to build seaplanes on the Esplanade at Rochester supplying the growing market for flying boats.
• Because of Rochester Airport's relatively low elevation of 426 feet, planes can take off or land at Rochester 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.
• Rochester Airport (RCS) has 3 runways.
• The inaugural flight into Rochester was from Gravesend, with John Parker flying their Short Scion, G-ACJI, powered by a Pobjoy engine.
• Passenger flights to and from the continent expanded in the 1950s and 60's using Douglas DC-3s and de Havilland Doves operated by Channel Airways but with stringent requirement of the Civil Aviation Authority, operators had to re-locate from Rochester.
• In 1979 the lease reverted to the council and after giving thorough consideration to closing the airport the General Electric Company plc comprising Marconi Electronic Systems and instrument makers Elliot Automation decided to take over management of the airport maintaining two runways as grass whilst releasing some land for light industrial expansion.
• The closest airport to Rochester Airport (RCS) is London Southend Airport (SEN), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) NNE of RCS.
• The furthest airport from Rochester Airport (RCS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,897 miles (19,146 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• An invitation to tender was issued and the existing operator became the preferred bidder after the closing date of 12 March 2013.
• Rochester Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee.

Facts about Lugano Airport (LUG):

• In addition to being known as "Lugano Airport", another name for LUG is "Aeroporto di Lugano".
• In the early 1980s, the airline Crossair decided to invest in the airport, establishing connections between Lugano and various European cities.
• Because of Lugano Airport's relatively low elevation of 915 feet, planes can take off or land at Lugano 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 Lugano Airport (LUG) is Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SSW of LUG.
• Lugano Airport (LUG) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Lugano Airport (LUG) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Lugano Airport (meaning Lugano Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,134 miles (19,527 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airport's instrument approach procedure is quite challenging because of its steep angle of descent of 6.65°, more than double of the standard approach angle of 3°.