Nonstop flight route between Santiago, Chile and Alconbury, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL), Santiago, Chile and RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,285 miles (or 11,724 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 Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport and RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102, 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 Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport and RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102. 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 Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL):

• Arturo Merino Benitez is about 17 kilometres by car from Santiago's city centre.
• Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL) is Ankang Wulipu Airport (AKA), which is nearly antipodal to Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (meaning Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ankang Wulipu Airport), and is located 12,387 miles (19,934 kilometers) away in Ankang, Shaanxi, China.
• For this reason, and with the repairs needed after the 2010 Chile Earthquake, the Ministry of Public Works announced in 2012 that it will call for proposals for the expansion and administration of the airport, 2 years prior to the end of the contract with the current operator.
• In 2008, the airport terminal reached its maximum design capacity of 9.5 million annual passengers, 2 years earlier than forecast.
• During the 2010 Chile Earthquake, the passenger terminal building suffered internal damages and the collapse of a pedestrian bridge between the vehicle ramp and the departures area.
• The demands of the growing metropolitan area of Santiago and the need for modern, jet-era airport facilities, which could safely accommodate both domestic and intercontinental flights, drove the need to relocate the Chilean capital's principal airport from Los Cerrillos Airport in the denser southwest metropolitan region of Santiago to the more rural northwest metropolitan area.
• In addition to being known as "Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport", other names for SCL include "Pudahuel Airport" and "Santiago International Airport".
• The closest airport to Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL) is Viña del Mar Airport (KNA), which is located 50 miles (81 kilometers) NW of SCL.
• The Airport is owned by the Chilean State and operated since July 1998 by SCL Terminal Aéreo Santiago S.A.
• The Santiago International Airport has four tax-free shops that offer a wide range of products to supply any need customers may have.
• Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, also known as Santiago International Airport and Pudahuel Airport, located in Pudahuel, 15 km north-west of downtown Santiago, is Chile's largest aviation facility and the busiest international air passenger gateway to the country.

Facts about RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH):

• This was the time of the Blitz, when many parts of Britain were being subjected to an almost nightly series of heavy air raids.
• During the Second World War, it was controlled by the USAAF Eighth Air Force, from 23 February 1944 to 7 August 1945 the United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe, thereafter the United States Air Forces in Europe,
• The furthest airport from RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,821 miles (19,024 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ESE of AYH.
• A total of 67 bombers had been lost in RAF Bomber Command operations flown from Alconbury, eight were Blenheims and 59 Wellingtons.