Nonstop flight route between Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cavern City Air Terminal (CNM), Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,985 miles (or 8,023 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 Cavern City Air Terminal 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 Cavern City Air Terminal 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 Cavern City Air Terminal (CNM):

• Cavern City Air Terminal is a public use airport in Eddy County, New Mexico, United States.
• In addition to being known as "Cavern City Air Terminal", another name for CNM is "(former Carlsbad Army Airfield)".
• The closest airport to Cavern City Air Terminal (CNM) is Artesia Municipal Airport (ATS), which is located 38 miles (60 kilometers) NNW of CNM.
• The furthest airport from Cavern City Air Terminal (CNM) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,279 miles (18,151 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Inactivated on September 30, 1945 at the end of World War II and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers.
• Cavern City Air Terminal (CNM) has 4 runways.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 2,207 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 3,417 enplanements in 2009, and 2,606 in 2010.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.