Nonstop flight route between Varadero, Matanzas Province, Cuba and Ruislip, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport (VRA), Varadero, Matanzas Province, Cuba and RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,607 miles (or 7,415 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 Juan Gualberto Gómez 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 Juan Gualberto Gómez 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 Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport (VRA):

• There has been 5 significant incidents involving aircraft from or en route to the airport since the 1950s.
• Because of Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport's relatively low elevation of 210 feet, planes can take off or land at Juan Gualberto Gómez 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.
• In addition to being known as "Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport", another name for VRA is "Aeropuerto Juan Gualberto Gómez".
• The furthest airport from Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport (VRA) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,679 miles (18,795 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Juan Gualberto Gomez Airport was built in 1989 and inaugurated by Fidel Castro, thus replacing the old Varadero airport located in Santa Marta, currently known as Kawama Airport.
• The closest airport to Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport (VRA) is Kawama Airport (VRO), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) NE of VRA.
• The terminal building has shops for tourists, a large departures lounge cafeterias and a VIP lounge.
• Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport (VRA) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about RAF Northolt (NHT):

• The outbreak of the First World War necessitated a new aerodrome for the Royal Flying Corps.
• 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.
• RAF Northolt became home to Prime Minister Winston Churchill's personal aircraft, a modified Douglas C-54 Skymaster, in June 1944.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• 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.
• Starting in 1946 the airfield was used by civil aviation during the construction of nearby Heathrow Airport.
• During 1952 a total of 50,000 air movements were recorded per annum, making the airfield the busiest in Europe.
• The remains of a Hawker Hurricane flown by Flying Officer Ludwik Witold Paszkiewicz, the first pilot in No. 303 Squadron to shoot down an enemy aircraft, were donated to the station in June 2008.
• Civil flights ceased when the central area at Heathrow opened in 1954 with Northolt reverting to sole military use in May that year.