Nonstop flight route between Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dubai International Airport (DXB), Dubai, United Arab Emirates and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,475 miles (or 5,592 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 Dubai 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 Dubai 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 Dubai International Airport (DXB):

• The next phase of development was the second runway, which was completed three months ahead of schedule and opened in April 1984.
• The new precision category 2 Approach and Runway Lighting System was commissioned.
• Construction of the airport was ordered by the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, in 1959.
• Also as part of the expansion, the airport is now able to handle at least 75 million passengers per annum with the opening of Concourse 3, which is part of Terminal 3.
• Dubai International Airport (DXB) has 2 runways.
• Expansion continued in the early 1970s including ILS Category II equipment, lengthening existing runway to 12,500 ft, installation of a non-directional beacon, diesel generators, taxiways, etc.
• Dubai International Airport handled 66,431,533 passengers last year.
• Because of Dubai International Airport's relatively low elevation of 62 feet, planes can take off or land at Dubai 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.
• The closest airport to Dubai International Airport (DXB) is Sharjah International Airport (SHJ), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) ENE of DXB.
• In addition to being known as "Dubai International Airport", another name for DXB is "مطار دبي الدولي".
• The furthest airport from Dubai International Airport (DXB) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,774 miles (18,948 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• The airport's landside facilities were modified to allow construction of two stations for the Red Line of Dubai Metro.

Facts about RAF Fairford (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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.