Nonstop flight route between Cocos Islands, Australia and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), Cocos Islands, Australia and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,245 miles (or 11,660 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 Cocos (Keeling) Island 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 Cocos (Keeling) Island 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 Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK):

• Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport has one runway, designated 15/33, with an asphalt surface measuring 2,441 m × 45 m and an elevation of 10 ft above sea level.
• Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport handled 15,712 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport", other names for CCK include "Lapangan Terbang Pulu Koko" and "YPCC".
• The airfield was built during World War II to support Allied aircraft in the war against Japan.
• The closest airport to Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK) is Christmas Island Airport (XCH), which is located 612 miles (985 kilometers) E of CCK.
• Because of Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Cocos (Keeling) 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 furthest airport from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK) is Corn Island International Airport (RNI), which is nearly antipodal to Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (meaning Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Corn Island International Airport), and is located 12,429 miles (20,003 kilometers) away in Corn Island, Nicaragua.
• Cocos Island Airport is not one of the busiest in Australia but still served 15,712 revenue passengers during financial year 2010-2011.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.