Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Ebadon Airstrip (EBN), Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,217 miles (or 13,224 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 Ebadon Airstrip, 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 Ebadon Airstrip. 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):

• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.

Facts about Ebadon Airstrip (EBN):

• Ebadon is located at the westernmost tip of the atoll.
• In the late 1930s, Japan began to centralize military power in Micronesia in line with its expansionism into the South and throughout Oceania.
• Omelek is uninhabited and leased by the U.S.
• Gugeegue or Gugegwe is an islet north of Ebeye, and is the northernmost point of the concrete causeway connecting the islets between them.
• Because of Ebadon Airstrip's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Ebadon Airstrip 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 Ebadon Airstrip (EBN) is Bucholz Army Airfield (KWA), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) NNW of EBN.
• On February 6, 1944, Kwajalein was claimed by the United States and was designated, with the rest of the Marshall Islands, as a United Nations Trust Territory under the United States.
• The furthest airport from Ebadon Airstrip (EBN) is RAF Ascension (ASI), which is nearly antipodal to Ebadon Airstrip (meaning Ebadon Airstrip is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from RAF Ascension), and is located 12,282 miles (19,767 kilometers) away in Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena.
• The population of Kwajalein Island is currently around 1,000 individuals, mostly Americans and a small number of Marshall Islanders and other nationals, all of whom have express permission from the U.S.
• Enmat is mo̧ or taboo, birthplace of the irooj and off-limits to anyone without the blessing of the Iroijlaplap.