Nonstop flight route between Sharjah, United Arab Emirates and Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sharjah International Airport (SHJ), Sharjah, United Arab Emirates and RAF Lyneham (LYE), Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,484 miles (or 5,607 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 Sharjah International Airport and RAF Lyneham, 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 Sharjah International Airport and RAF Lyneham. 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 Sharjah International Airport (SHJ):

• Sharjah International Airport (SHJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Sharjah International Airport (SHJ) is Dubai International Airport (DXB), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) WSW of SHJ.
• Sharjah International Airport handled 7,516,538 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Sharjah International Airport (SHJ) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,763 miles (18,931 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• Because of Sharjah International Airport's relatively low elevation of 116 feet, planes can take off or land at Sharjah 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.
• Sharjah Airport is the second largest Middle East airfreight hub in cargo tonnage, according to official 2009 statistics from Airports Council International.
• The current Sharjah Airport was built in the 1970s and was opened on 1 January 1977.
• In addition to being known as "Sharjah International Airport", another name for SHJ is "مطار الشارقة الدولي".
• The airport is 15 km away from central Dubai.

Facts about RAF Lyneham (LYE):

• RAF Lyneham (LYE) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to RAF Lyneham (LYE) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) NE of LYE.
• On 16 October 1946, 511 squadron was formed again as an Avro York operator.
• Because of RAF Lyneham's relatively low elevation of 512 feet, planes can take off or land at RAF Lyneham 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.
• RAF Lyneham received the first of 25 brand-new Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules on 23 November 1999, to be operated by Nos.
• The furthest airport from RAF Lyneham (LYE) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,913 miles (19,172 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The decision to close RAF Lyneham was made in 2002, and it was scheduled for closure by 2012 with all functions and aircraft relocated to RAF Brize Norton.
• With the increase in air transport operations in the RAF, as opposed to ferrying, Transport Command was formed in March 1943.
• The Ministry of Defence announced plans in December 2012 to re-develop Lyneham as a Defence Technical Training establishment by the end of 2015 and, on 14 December 2012, it invited interest from industry into developing the infrastructure at the former RAF site at Lyneham.
• The airfield became renowned for being the "gateway" between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan.