Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,239 miles (or 6,821 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 Governador Carlos Wilson 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 Governador Carlos Wilson 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):

• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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 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.
• 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.

Facts about Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN):

• In addition to being known as "Governador Carlos Wilson Airport", another name for FEN is "Aeroporto Governador Carlos Wilson".
• The furthest airport from Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN) is Chuuk International Airport (TKK), which is nearly antipodal to Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (meaning Governador Carlos Wilson Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chuuk International Airport), and is located 12,052 miles (19,395 kilometers) away in Weno, Federated States of Micronesia.
• Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN) is Augusto Severo International Airport (NAT), which is located 240 miles (387 kilometers) SW of FEN.
• The airport is located 4 km from Vila dos Remédios, the administrative center of the island.
• Because of Governador Carlos Wilson Airport's relatively low elevation of 190 feet, planes can take off or land at Governador Carlos Wilson 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.
• In 1975 another extension of the runway was made, allowing the operations of aircraft up to the class of a Boeing 737.
• The airport was transferred to the jurisdiction of the United States Navy on 5 September 1944.