Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Arorae Island, Kiribati:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to AIS:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- AIS Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about AIS
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to AIS
- List of Nearest Airports to AIS
- Map of Furthest Airports from AIS
- List of Furthest Airports from AIS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Arorae Island Airport (AIS), Arorae Island, Kiribati would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,046 miles (or 14,558 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 RAF Fairford and Arorae Island Airport, 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 RAF Fairford and Arorae Island Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFD / EGVA |
Airport Name: | RAF Fairford |
Location: | Fairford, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'55"N by 1°47'24"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from FFD |
More Information: | FFD Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | AIS / NGTR |
Airport Name: | Arorae Island Airport |
Location: | Arorae Island, Kiribati |
GPS Coordinates: | 2°36'58"S by 176°48'7"E |
Area Served: | Arorae |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 6 feet (2 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from AIS |
More Information: | AIS Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.
- Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
- The 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
- The furthest airport from RAF Fairford (FFD) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,898 miles (19,148 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- The runway was completed in 1953, and served as a forward airbase for the first Convair B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.
Facts about Arorae Island Airport (AIS):
- The furthest airport from Arorae Island Airport (AIS) is Takoradi Airport (TKD), which is nearly antipodal to Arorae Island Airport (meaning Arorae Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Takoradi Airport), and is located 12,251 miles (19,716 kilometers) away in Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana.
- Because of Arorae Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Arorae Island 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.
- The closest airport to Arorae Island Airport (AIS) is Beru Island Airport (BEZ), which is located 103 miles (166 kilometers) NNW of AIS.