Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Barrow Island Airport (BWB), Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,497 miles (or 13,674 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 Barrow Island 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 Barrow Island 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):

• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.

Facts about Barrow Island Airport (BWB):

• Barrow Island Airport (BWB) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Barrow Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Barrow Island 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 Barrow Island Airport (BWB) is Karratha Airport (KTA), which is located 89 miles (143 kilometers) E of BWB.
• The furthest airport from Barrow Island Airport (BWB) is Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport (EIS), which is nearly antipodal to Barrow Island Airport (meaning Barrow Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport), and is located 12,270 miles (19,746 kilometers) away in Beef Island (near Tortola), British Virgin Islands.