Nonstop flight route between Arona, Ulawa Island, Solomon Islands and Akrotiri, Cyprus:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ulawa Airport (RNA), Arona, Ulawa Island, Solomon Islands and RAF Akrotiri (AKT), Akrotiri, Cyprus would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,803 miles (or 14,167 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 Ulawa Airport and RAF Akrotiri, 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 Ulawa Airport and RAF Akrotiri. 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 Ulawa Airport (RNA):

• The furthest airport from Ulawa Airport (RNA) is Bubaque Airport (BQE), which is nearly antipodal to Ulawa Airport (meaning Ulawa Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Bubaque Airport), and is located 12,258 miles (19,728 kilometers) away in Bubaque, Guinea-Bissau.
• The closest airport to Ulawa Airport (RNA) is Kirakira Airport (IRA), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) S of RNA.

Facts about RAF Akrotiri (AKT):

• In July 2006 RAF Akrotiri played a major role as a transit point for personnel evacuations out of Lebanon during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.
• A constant problem of airfields located outside the territory of the country whose forces are based there is that of overflight rights.
• In September 1976 the US U-2 operations were turned over to the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, but the U-2 operation at RAF Akrotiri continued to be called Operating Location OH until September 1980.
• The furthest airport from RAF Akrotiri (AKT) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,556 miles (18,598 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• Akrotiri is also the winter training grounds of the RAF display team, the Red Arrows.
• The U-2s of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing were used in Operation Cedar Sweep to fly surveillance over Lebanon, relaying information about Hezbollah militants to Lebanese authorities, and in Operation Highland Warrior to fly surveillance over Turkey and northern Iraq to relay information to Turkish authorities.
• In August 2013, six RAF Typhoon Fighters were deployed to Akrotiri to defend the base, following possible military responses to of an alleged Syrian government chemical weapons attack.
• In March 2011, the station was used as a staging base for support aircraft involved in Operation Ellamy.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Akrotiri", another name for AKT is ""Aki"".
• The closest airport to RAF Akrotiri (AKT) is Paphos International Airport (PFO), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) WNW of AKT.
• In the mid-1980s, the US launched retaliatory attacks against Libya after the country's leader, Muammar al-Gaddafi, was implicated in terrorist attacks against US military bases.
• The station commander is double-hatted and is also the officer commanding the Akrotiri or Western Sovereign Base Area, reporting to the commander of British Forces Cyprus who is also the Administrator.
• Due to the station's relative proximity to the Middle East, it is often used by British allies when needed, such as for casualty reception for Americans after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing and as a staging post before heading into theatres of combat in the Middle East/Persian Gulf theaters.