Nonstop flight route between Baghdad, Iraq and Ruislip, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Baghdad International Airport (SDA), Baghdad, Iraq and RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,551 miles (or 4,106 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 Baghdad International 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 Baghdad International 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 Baghdad International Airport (SDA):

• The closest airport to Baghdad International Airport (SDA) is Baghdad International Airport (BGW), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of SDA.
• Because of Baghdad International Airport's relatively low elevation of 114 feet, planes can take off or land at Baghdad International 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.
• Baghdad International Airport (SDA) has 2 runways.
• On 18 May 2010, plans were unveiled for an expansion of Baghdad International Airport, which will double its capacity to 15 million passengers per year.
• In addition to being known as "Baghdad International Airport", other names for SDA include "مطار بغداد الدولي", "Matar Baġdād ad-Dowaly" and "BGW".
• The furthest airport from Baghdad International Airport (SDA) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,732 miles (18,880 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• Most of Baghdad's civil flights stopped in 1991, when the United Nations imposed restrictions on Iraq after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War.

Facts about RAF Northolt (NHT):

• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• In January 2012, it was reported that the future of station was under review by the Ministry of Defence as part of efforts to reduce defence spending.
• During 1952 a total of 50,000 air movements were recorded per annum, making the airfield the busiest in Europe.
• On 1 June 1960, an Avro Anson aircraft suffered engine failure soon after take-off from Northolt and crash-landed on top of the nearby Express Dairies plant in South Ruislip.
• Civil flights ceased when the central area at Heathrow opened in 1954 with Northolt reverting to sole military use in May that year.
• RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station in South Ruislip, 2 nautical miles from Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, west London.
• 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.
• During the construction of Heathrow Airport, Northolt was used for commercial civil flights, becoming the busiest airport in Europe for a time and a major base for British European Airways.