Nonstop flight route between Barra del Colorado, Costa Rica and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Barra del Colorado Airport (BCL), Barra del Colorado, Costa Rica and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,285 miles (or 8,506 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 Barra del Colorado Airport and RAF Fairford, 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 Barra del Colorado Airport and RAF Fairford. 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 Barra del Colorado Airport (BCL):

• In addition to being known as "Barra del Colorado Airport", another name for BCL is "Aeropuerto de Barra del Colorado".
• Barra del Colorado Airport (BCL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Barra del Colorado Airport (BCL) is Tortuguero Airport (TTQ), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) SSE of BCL.
• Because of Barra del Colorado Airport's relatively low elevation of 3 feet, planes can take off or land at Barra del Colorado 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 furthest airport from Barra del Colorado Airport (BCL) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Barra del Colorado Airport (meaning Barra del Colorado Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,335 miles (19,851 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• In the early years of the Cold War the British and American governments reached an agreement under which elements of the USAF Strategic Air Command would be based in the UK.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• On 15 September 2009, it was announced that the USAF will withdraw all their uniformed staff from the station by September 2010, after which it will be run on a "care and maintenance" basis.