Nonstop flight route between Delhi, India and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL), Delhi, India and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,236 miles (or 6,818 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 Indira Gandhi International 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 Indira Gandhi International 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 Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL):

• Designed by HOK working in consultation with Mott MacDonald, the new Terminal 3 is a two-tier building spread over an area of 20 acres, with the bottom floor being the arrivals area, and the top being a departures area.
• Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) is Agra Airport (AGR), which is located 110 miles (178 kilometers) SSE of DEL.
• IGI Airport is the home of several Indian airlines including Air India, Air India Regional, IndiGo, JetKonnect, SpiceJet, Jet Airways, GoAir use IGI Airport as their secondary hub.
• Upon the annual Muslim pilgrimage of Hajj specified flights move to this separate terminal to prevent disruption of other passengers who are travelling to other areas of the globe.
• Because of Indira Gandhi International Airport's relatively low elevation of 777 feet, planes can take off or land at Indira Gandhi International 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.
• On 2 May 2006, the management of Delhi and Mumbai airports were handed over to the private consortia.
• Delhi International Airport Limited is a consortium of the GMR Group, Fraport and Malaysia Airports, India Development Fund and the Airports Authority of India retains a 26% stake.
• The furthest airport from Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is nearly antipodal to Indira Gandhi International Airport (meaning Indira Gandhi International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mataveri International Airport), and is located 12,026 miles (19,354 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.