Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Alice Springs Airport (ASP), Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,416 miles (or 15,153 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 Alice Springs 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 Alice Springs 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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 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.

Facts about Alice Springs Airport (ASP):

• The furthest airport from Alice Springs Airport (ASP) is Barbuda Codrington Airport (BBQ), which is located 11,336 miles (18,243 kilometers) away in Codrington, Barbuda, Antigua and Barbuda.
• Tragedy struck the airport again on 5 January 1977, when a former employee of Connair, Colin Richard Forman, flew a stolen aircraft into the Connair offices located at the airport, killing himself and three of the airline's employees.
• The closest airport to Alice Springs Airport (ASP) is Cowra Airport (CWT), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) E of ASP.
• The airport has two runways, the largest of which can accommodate a Boeing 747 or 777 landing.
• The facility is to be operated by Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage Ltd which chose Alice Springs because its dry, arid climate is perfect for aircraft storage and preservation.
• During 2010–11 a total of 640,519 domestic passengers passed through Alice Springs Airport making it the 18th busiest in Australia.
• Alice Springs Airport handled 598,749 passengers last year.
• Alice Springs Airport (ASP) has 2 runways.