Nonstop flight route between Yibin, Sichuan, China and Akrotiri, Cyprus:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Yibin Caiba Airport (YBP), Yibin, Sichuan, China and RAF Akrotiri (AKT), Akrotiri, Cyprus would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,138 miles (or 6,659 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 Yibin Caiba 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 Yibin Caiba 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 Yibin Caiba Airport (YBP):

• In addition to being known as "Yibin Caiba Airport", other names for YBP include "宜宾菜坝机场" and "Yibīn Càibà Jīchǎng".
• Yibin Caiba Airport handled 326,000 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Yibin Caiba Airport (YBP) is Luzhou Lantian Airport (LZO), which is located 51 miles (83 kilometers) E of YBP.
• The furthest airport from Yibin Caiba Airport (YBP) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is nearly antipodal to Yibin Caiba Airport (meaning Yibin Caiba Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from La Florida Airport), and is located 12,169 miles (19,584 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.

Facts about RAF Akrotiri (AKT):

• 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.
• 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.
• Due to the station's relative proximity to the Middle East, it is often used by British allies when needed, such as for casualty reception for Americans after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing and as a staging post before heading into theatres of combat in the Middle East/Persian Gulf theaters.
• Akrotiri has played a crucial role during Britain's recent operations in the Middle East.
• The closest airport to RAF Akrotiri (AKT) is Paphos International Airport (PFO), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) WNW of AKT.
• Akrotiri was also the location of the main transmitter of the well known numbers station, the Lincolnshire Poacher, although transmissions ceased in 2008.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Akrotiri", another name for AKT is ""Aki"".
• In August 2013, six RAF Typhoon Fighters were deployed to Akrotiri to defend the base, following possible military responses to of an alleged Syrian government chemical weapons attack.
• Akrotiri was first constructed in the mid-1950s to relieve pressure on the main RAF station on the island, RAF Nicosia.
• 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.