Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Dhahran, Saudi Arabia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and King Abdulaziz Air Base (DHA), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,204 miles (or 5,156 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 King Abdulaziz Air Base, 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 King Abdulaziz Air Base. 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):

• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• On 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• 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 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 King Abdulaziz Air Base (DHA):

• King Abdulaziz Air Base (DHA) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "King Abdulaziz Air Base", other names for DHA include "قاعدة الملك عبد العزيز الجوية", "Dhahran International Airport" and "مطار الظهران الدولي".
• A detachment of Royal Air Force Panavia Tornado GR1's from No.
• The furthest airport from King Abdulaziz Air Base (DHA) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is nearly antipodal to King Abdulaziz Air Base (meaning King Abdulaziz Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Totegegie Airport), and is located 12,052 miles (19,395 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• Because of King Abdulaziz Air Base's relatively low elevation of 84 feet, planes can take off or land at King Abdulaziz Air Base 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 King Abdulaziz Air Base (DHA) is King Fahd International Airport (DMM), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) WNW of DHA.
• Dhahran International Airport in Dhahran, formerly served the city of Dammam and the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.