Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Dum Dum (near Kolkata), India:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU), Dum Dum (near Kolkata), India would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,013 miles (or 8,067 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 Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose 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 Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle 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.
• 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.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.

Facts about Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU):

• Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport", another name for CCU is "নেতাজি সুভাষচন্দ্র বসু আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর".
• In the early 1980s, plans emerged to connect the airport with the city center by tram.
• Because of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose 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.
• The furthest airport from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,276 miles (18,147 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• The airport's new integrated terminal is spread over 233,000 m2 and is able to handle 25 million passengers annually, compared to the previous terminals' capacity of five million.
• Due to the introduction of longer haul aircraft and the poor political climate of Calcutta during the 1960s, several airlines discontinued their service to the airport.
• Between the 1940s and 1960s, the airport was served by several major airlines including Aeroflot,Air France,Alitalia,Cathay Pacific,Japan Airlines,Philippine Airlines,KLM, Pan Am,Lufthansa,Swissair and SAS.
• The closest airport to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU) is Jessore Airport (JSR), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NE of CCU.
• The airport has a facility of prepaid taxis and air-conditioned buses that connect it to the city.