Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Dalian, Liaoning, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport (DLC), Dalian, Liaoning, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,306 miles (or 8,539 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 Dalian Zhoushuizi 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 Dalian Zhoushuizi 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):

• 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.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• 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.
• 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.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport (DLC):

• The closest airport to Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport (DLC) is Changhai Airport (CNI), which is located 64 miles (103 kilometers) ENE of DLC.
• Because of Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport's relatively low elevation of 108 feet, planes can take off or land at Dalian Zhoushuizi 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.
• Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport (DLC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport (DLC) is Necochea Airport (NEC), which is nearly antipodal to Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport (meaning Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Necochea Airport), and is located 12,398 miles (19,953 kilometers) away in Necochea, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• The airport has one 3,300 meter runway, and a 65,000 square-meter terminal building.
• In addition to being known as "Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport", other names for DLC include "大连周水子国际机场" and "Dàlián Zhōushuǐzǐ Guójì Jīchǎng".
• Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport handled 10,703,640 passengers last year.