Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Assab, Eritrea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Assab International Airport (ASA), Assab, Eritrea would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,628 miles (or 5,838 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 Assab International 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 Assab International 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• 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 is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Assab International Airport (ASA):

• The furthest airport from Assab International Airport (ASA) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is nearly antipodal to Assab International Airport (meaning Assab International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Atuona Airport), and is located 12,182 miles (19,606 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Assab International Airport (ASA) is Obock Airport (OBC), which is located 87 miles (141 kilometers) SSE of ASA.
• Assab International Airport (ASA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Assab International Airport's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at Assab 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.