Nonstop flight route between Tureia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia and St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tureira Airport (ZTA), Tureia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia and RAF Leuchars (ADX), St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,103 miles (or 14,650 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 Tureira Airport and RAF Leuchars, 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 Tureira Airport and RAF Leuchars. 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 Tureira Airport (ZTA):

• From 1966 to 1999, Tureia hosted an outpost of the Centre d'Expérimentation du Pacifique, the French authority supervising nuclear tests on the nearby atolls of Moruroa and Fangataufa, which lie about 70 miles/115 kilometres south of Tureia.
• Because of Tureira Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Tureira 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.
• Tureia atoll is 15 km long and has a maximum width of 8 km.
• The closest airport to Tureira Airport (ZTA) is Nukutavake Airport (NUK), which is located 104 miles (167 kilometers) N of ZTA.
• Tureia is an atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia.
• The furthest airport from Tureira Airport (ZTA) is Al-Baha Domestic Airport (ABT), which is nearly antipodal to Tureira Airport (meaning Tureira Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Al-Baha Domestic Airport), and is located 12,402 miles (19,958 kilometers) away in Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia.

Facts about RAF Leuchars (ADX):

• The closest airport to RAF Leuchars (ADX) is Dundee Airport (DND), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NW of ADX.
• The furthest airport from RAF Leuchars (ADX) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,678 miles (18,793 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• The unit was formally named 'Royal Air Force Leuchars' in March 1920, but nevertheless retained its strong naval links.
• Leuchars is also the base for No.
• The next generation of jets to be stationed at Leuchars were the Hawker Hunter and the Gloster Javelin, with air-sea rescue services provided by Westland Whirlwind helicopters.
• Royal Air Force station Leuchars or more simply RAF Leuchars is the second most northerly air defence station in the United Kingdom.
• In 2015 the army will take over and The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards will move in along with a REME Battalion and a Provost Company.
• The other operational UK air defence base since June 2007 is RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, which operates the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4.
• During Second World War, British Overseas Airways Corporation formed in November 1939 from Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd operated a wartime route from RAF Leuchars to Stockholm.