Nonstop flight route between Anambas Islands, Riau Province, Indonesia and Ruislip, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Matak Airport (MWK), Anambas Islands, Riau Province, Indonesia and RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,744 miles (or 10,853 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 Matak 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 Matak 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 Matak Airport (MWK):

• Matak Airport (MWK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Matak Airport (MWK) is Tioman Airport (TOD), which is located 149 miles (240 kilometers) WSW of MWK.
• The furthest airport from Matak Airport (MWK) is Crnl. FAP Francisco Secada Vignetta International Airport (IQT), which is nearly antipodal to Matak Airport (meaning Matak Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Crnl. FAP Francisco Secada Vignetta International Airport), and is located 12,394 miles (19,947 kilometers) away in Iquitos, Loreto, Peru.
• In addition to being known as "Matak Airport", another name for MWK is "Bandar Udara Matak".
• Because of Matak Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Matak 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 Northolt (NHT):

• During the construction of Heathrow Airport, Northolt was used for commercial civil flights, becoming the busiest airport in Europe for a time and a major base for British European Airways.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• 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.
• Group Captain Tom Barrett, appointed station commander in September 2009 and the final station commander of neighbouring RAF Uxbridge, died on 10 March 2011 following a road traffic accident on the A40.Wing Commander Jules Stilwell paid tribute to Group Captain Barrett, saying, "Tom was an extraordinary person.
• Construction of the new aerodrome, to be named "RFC Military School, Ruislip", began in January 1915.
• Civil flights ceased when the central area at Heathrow opened in 1954 with Northolt reverting to sole military use in May that year.
• In December 1946, after taking off during a heavy snowstorm, a Douglas DC-3 operated by British European Airways, flying from Northolt to Glasgow, crashed onto the roof of a house in South Ruislip.
• Squadrons based at RAF Northolt during the battle shot down a total of 148 Luftwaffe aircraft and damaged 52.