Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Florence, Italy:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Florence Airport, Peretola (FLR), Florence, Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 810 miles (or 1,304 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 relatively short distance between RAF Fairford and Florence Airport, Peretola, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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 Florence Airport, Peretola (FLR):

• The furthest airport from Florence Airport, Peretola (FLR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Florence Airport, Peretola (meaning Florence Airport, Peretola is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,055 miles (19,401 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In 1990, the airport was named after Florence native Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian merchant and cartographer.
• The closest airport to Florence Airport, Peretola (FLR) is Siena-Ampugnano Airport (SAY), which is located 38 miles (62 kilometers) S of FLR.
• Florence Airport, Peretola formerly Amerigo Vespucci Airport, is an airport located close to Florence, Italy, but administratively located within the territory of Sesto Fiorentino.
• Florence Airport, Peretola (FLR) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Florence Airport, Peretola's relatively low elevation of 144 feet, planes can take off or land at Florence Airport, Peretola 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.
• On December 5, 2012 Vueling has announced the opening of a new base of operations from which to fly to Florence to several destinations in Europe.
• In addition to being known as "Florence Airport, Peretola", another name for FLR is "Aeroporto di Firenze-Peretola".