Nonstop flight route between Trincomalee, Sri Lanka and Mildenhall, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between China Bay Airport (TRR), Trincomalee, Sri Lanka and RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), Mildenhall, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,360 miles (or 8,626 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 China Bay Airport and RAF Mildenhall, 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 China Bay Airport and RAF Mildenhall. 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 China Bay Airport (TRR):

• In addition to being known as "China Bay Airport", another name for TRR is "சீனக்குடா விமான நிலையம்චීන වරාය ගුවන්තොටුපළ".
• After independence, the British maintained two military airfields in Ceylon, the Royal Air Force station at RAF Katunayake and the naval base in Trincomalee, and camps at Diyatalawa.
• The furthest airport from China Bay Airport (TRR) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,625 miles (18,709 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• China Bay Airport (TRR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The base houses the Sri Lanka Air Force Academy.
• A number of RAF squadrons and other units were stationed at the airfield during and immediately after the war.
• Because of China Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at China Bay 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 China Bay Airport (TRR) is Anuradhapura Airport (ACJ), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) WSW of TRR.
• Originally built by the British during their Empire colonial times, it was transferred to the Royal Ceylonese Air Force which later became the Sri Lanka Air Force.

Facts about RAF Mildenhall (MHZ):

• On 1 October 2002, the 488th was re-aligned from the 67th Information Operations Wing to the 55th Wing.
• The 488th Intelligence Squadron a component of the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency, formerly the Air Intelligence Agency.
• The furthest airport from RAF Mildenhall (MHZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,829 miles (19,037 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to RAF Mildenhall (MHZ) is RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) NE of MHZ.
• The host unit at Mildenhall is the 100th Air Refueling Wing, which deploys aircraft for and manages the European Tanker Task Force, a rotational force which provides air refuelling to US and NATO aircraft in the European Theater.
• The 501st Combat Support Wing was activated at RAF Mildenhall on 21 May 2005.
• Assigned from Strategic Air Command to United States Air Forces in Europe on 1 September 1959 and RAF relinquished joint operations status that date.
• The 95th Reconnaissance Squadron conducts RC-135 Rivet Joint flight operations in the European and Mediterranean theatres of operations as tasked by National Command Authorities and European Command.