Nonstop flight route between Dire Dawa, Ethiopia and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Aba Tenna Dejazmach Yilma International Airport (DIR), Dire Dawa, Ethiopia and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,800 miles (or 6,116 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 Aba Tenna Dejazmach Yilma 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 Aba Tenna Dejazmach Yilma 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 Aba Tenna Dejazmach Yilma International Airport (DIR):

• Aba Tenna Dejazmach Yilma International Airport resides at an elevation of 3,829 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Aba Tenna Dejazmach Yilma International Airport (DIR) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is nearly antipodal to Aba Tenna Dejazmach Yilma International Airport (meaning Aba Tenna Dejazmach Yilma International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Atuona Airport), and is located 12,377 miles (19,919 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• Aba Tenna Dejazmach Yilma International Airport, also known as Dire Dawa International Airport, is an international airport serving Dire Dawa, a city in eastern Ethiopia.
• The airport was named after Emperor Haile Selassie's elder half-brother, Dejazmach Yilma Makonnen, who preceded him as governor of Harar.
• Aba Tenna Dejazmach Yilma International Airport (DIR) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Aba Tenna Dejazmach Yilma International Airport", another name for DIR is "አባ ጤና ደጃዝማች ይልማ ዓለም አቀፍ የአየር ማረፊያ".
• The closest airport to Aba Tenna Dejazmach Yilma International Airport (DIR) is Wilwal International Airport (JIJ), which is located 75 miles (120 kilometers) ESE of DIR.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.