Nonstop flight route between Yélimané, Mali and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Yélimané Airport (EYL), Yélimané, Mali and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,572 miles (or 4,138 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 Yélimané 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 Yélimané 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 Yélimané Airport (EYL):

• The furthest airport from Yélimané Airport (EYL) is Sara Airport (SSR), which is nearly antipodal to Yélimané Airport (meaning Yélimané Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Sara Airport), and is located 12,348 miles (19,873 kilometers) away in Sara, Vanuatu.
• The closest airport to Yélimané Airport (EYL) is Nioro Airport (NIX), which is located 67 miles (107 kilometers) E of EYL.

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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.