Nonstop flight route between Abingdon, Virginia, United States and Akrotiri, Cyprus:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Virginia Highlands Airport (VJI), Abingdon, Virginia, United States and RAF Akrotiri (AKT), Akrotiri, Cyprus would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,981 miles (or 9,625 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 Virginia Highlands Airport and RAF Akrotiri, 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 Virginia Highlands Airport and RAF Akrotiri. 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 Virginia Highlands Airport (VJI):

• Virginia Highlands Airport (VJI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Virginia Highlands Airport (VJI) is Tri-Cities Regional Airport (TRI), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) SW of VJI.
• The furthest airport from Virginia Highlands Airport (VJI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,454 miles (18,433 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about RAF Akrotiri (AKT):

• The closest airport to RAF Akrotiri (AKT) is Paphos International Airport (PFO), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) WNW of AKT.
• The station commander is double-hatted and is also the officer commanding the Akrotiri or Western Sovereign Base Area, reporting to the commander of British Forces Cyprus who is also the Administrator.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Akrotiri", another name for AKT is ""Aki"".
• Akrotiri was also the location of the main transmitter of the well known numbers station, the Lincolnshire Poacher, although transmissions ceased in 2008.
• The furthest airport from RAF Akrotiri (AKT) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,556 miles (18,598 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• Akrotiri was first constructed in the mid-1950s to relieve pressure on the main RAF station on the island, RAF Nicosia.
• The U-2s of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing were used in Operation Cedar Sweep to fly surveillance over Lebanon, relaying information about Hezbollah militants to Lebanese authorities, and in Operation Highland Warrior to fly surveillance over Turkey and northern Iraq to relay information to Turkish authorities.
• Akrotiri, along with Nicosia, assumed a very important status, as virtually the sole means for projecting British airpower into the eastern Mediterranean, outside of aircraft carriers.