Nonstop flight route between Jakar, Bumthang, Bhutan and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bathpalathang Airport (BUT), Jakar, Bumthang, Bhutan and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,850 miles (or 7,806 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 Bathpalathang 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 Bathpalathang 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 Bathpalathang Airport (BUT):

• Bathpalathang Airport (BUT) currently has only 1 runway.
• Airport construction at Bathpalathang met several delays, including soil instability under the runway, funding, labor and material shortages, and nearby river protection and diversion, each of which underpinned the ultimate success of any airport at the site.
• The furthest airport from Bathpalathang Airport (BUT) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is located 11,332 miles (18,237 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.
• The closest airport to Bathpalathang Airport (BUT) is Paro International Airport (PBH), which is located 82 miles (132 kilometers) W of BUT.
• Because of Bathpalathang Airport's high elevation of 8,858 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BUT. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BUT a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Both Drukair and Tashi Air conducted inaugural flights to Bathpalathang on 17 December 2011—coinciding with the national day of Bhutan.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• 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.
• 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.