Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Cavern City Air Terminal (CNM), Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,985 miles (or 8,023 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 Cavern City Air Terminal, 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 Cavern City Air Terminal. 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):

• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of 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 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.
• 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.
• 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 Cavern City Air Terminal (CNM):

• In addition to being known as "Cavern City Air Terminal", another name for CNM is "(former Carlsbad Army Airfield)".
• The furthest airport from Cavern City Air Terminal (CNM) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,279 miles (18,151 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Established by the United States Army Air Corps in 1942 as Carlsbad Army Airfield, the facility was activated on October 12, 1942.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 2,207 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 3,417 enplanements in 2009, and 2,606 in 2010.
• The closest airport to Cavern City Air Terminal (CNM) is Artesia Municipal Airport (ATS), which is located 38 miles (60 kilometers) NNW of CNM.
• Cavern City Air Terminl covers an area of 1,980 acres at an elevation of 3,295 feet above mean sea level.
• Cavern City Air Terminal (CNM) has 4 runways.