Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Qaisumah, Hafar Al-Batin, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Qaisumah Domestic Airport (AQI), Qaisumah, Hafar Al-Batin, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,931 miles (or 4,718 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 RAF Fairford and Qaisumah Domestic Airport, 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 RAF Fairford and Qaisumah Domestic Airport. 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 RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.

Facts about Qaisumah Domestic Airport (AQI):

• The airport resides at an elevation of 1,174 feet above mean sea level.
• Qaisumah Domestic Airport (AQI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Qaisumah Domestic Airport (AQI) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is nearly antipodal to Qaisumah Domestic Airport (meaning Qaisumah Domestic Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Totegegie Airport), and is located 12,069 miles (19,423 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Qaisumah Domestic Airport (AQI) is Kuwait International Airport (KWI), which is located 128 miles (206 kilometers) ENE of AQI.
• In addition to being known as "Qaisumah Domestic Airport", another name for AQI is "مطار القيصومة المحلي".