Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Del Rio, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Del Rio International Airport (DRT), Del Rio, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,016 miles (or 8,073 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 Del Rio 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 Del Rio 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):

• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 Del Rio International Airport (DRT):

• The furthest airport from Del Rio International Airport (DRT) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,249 miles (18,103 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 16,028 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 13,436 in 2009 and 13,180 in 2010.
• The closest airport to Del Rio International Airport (DRT) is Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) E of DRT.
• Del Rio International Airport (DRT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport covers 268 acres at an elevation of 1,002 feet.