Nonstop flight route between Maamigili, Maldives and Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Villa International Airport (VAM), Maamigili, Maldives and RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,367 miles (or 8,637 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 Villa International Airport and RAF Brize Norton, 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 Villa International Airport and RAF Brize Norton. 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 Villa International Airport (VAM):

• Maamigili Airport Airside, March 2013
• The furthest airport from Villa International Airport (VAM) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,252 miles (18,108 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 6 feet above mean sea level.
• Villa International Airport, also known as Maamigili Airport, is located on the island of Maamigili in Alif Dhaal Atoll in the Maldives and was opened on October 1, 2011 as a domestic airport.
• Villa International Airport (VAM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Villa International Airport (VAM) is Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) NE of VAM.
• Because of Villa International Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Villa 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.

Facts about RAF Brize Norton (BZZ):

• Brize Norton is already a major airbase for the RAF's transport fleet.
• On 23 May 2001 the RAF's first C-17 arrived at Brize Norton, one of six to be delivered to 99 Squadron.
• Major infrastructure redevelopment began in 2010 ahead of the closure of RAF Lyneham in 2012, at which point Brize Norton became the sole air point of embarkation for British troops.
• By 1950 the USAF Strategic Air Command was based at RAF Lakenheath, RAF Marham, and RAF Sculthorpe.
• To accommodate this expansion, a major infrastructure redevelopment, "Programme Future Brize" was established in 2009.
• 101 Squadron reformed at Brize Norton on 1 May 1984, it previously operated the Avro Vulcan and participated in the Operation Black Buck missions of the Falklands War.
• The furthest airport from RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,888 miles (19,132 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WSW of BZZ.
• RAF Brize Norton Flying Club resides at the station providing low cost flying for MOD personnel and training to PPL level and above.
• By the 1950s Cold War tension was escalating and the United States envisaged stationing nuclear bombers in the United Kingdom as a deterrent to Soviet aggression.
• During the 2003 Iraq War four anti-war protesters managed to access the main runway in an attempt to prevent aircraft taking off.