Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Cottbus, Brandenburg, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Cottbus-Drewitz Airport (CBU), Cottbus, Brandenburg, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 696 miles (or 1,121 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 relatively short distance between RAF Fairford and Cottbus-Drewitz Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Cottbus-Drewitz Airport (CBU):

• Due to investors pulling out, there has been several failed attempts to turn the civilian airport into a freight hub with a 3000 m runway, similar in concept to Frankfurt-Hahn.
• Cottbus-Drewitz Airport is a civilian airport located in Drewitz, an Ortsteil of Jänschwalde, approximately 25 kilometres north-east of Cottbus in Brandenburg, Germany.
• The closest airport to Cottbus-Drewitz Airport (CBU) is Berlin Schönefeld Airport (SXF), which is located 55 miles (88 kilometers) NW of CBU.
• In addition to being known as "Cottbus-Drewitz Airport", other names for CBU include "Flugplatz Cottbus-Drewitz" and "Cottbus- Drewitz Airport".
• Cottbus-Drewitz Airport (CBU) has 2 runways.
• The airport is most often used for charter flights for the football team FC Energie Cottbus, but is also used for training flights by Air Berlin, TUIfly, Lufthansa and Germania.
• Because of Cottbus-Drewitz Airport's relatively low elevation of 276 feet, planes can take off or land at Cottbus-Drewitz 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 furthest airport from Cottbus-Drewitz Airport (CBU) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,683 miles (18,801 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.