Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Pyongyang, North Korea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Pyongyang Sunan International Airport (FNJ), Pyongyang, North Korea would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,405 miles (or 8,699 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 Pyongyang Sunan 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 Pyongyang Sunan 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):

• Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.
• 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 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 closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of 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.
• 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.

Facts about Pyongyang Sunan International Airport (FNJ):

• In addition to being known as "Pyongyang Sunan International Airport", other names for FNJ include "평양순안국제공항" and "P'yŏngyang Sunan Kukche Konghang".
• Pyongyang Sunan International Airport (FNJ) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Pyongyang Sunan International Airport (FNJ) is Incheon International Airport (ICN), which is located 129 miles (207 kilometers) SSE of FNJ.
• Air Koryo's Tupolev Tu-204 and low floor bus at FNJ
• The airport contains a car park, a business centre, accessible facilities, a duty-free shop, a Business Class lounge, a taxi stand, a Korea Trade Bank, and several souvenir shops.
• The furthest airport from Pyongyang Sunan International Airport (FNJ) is Astor Piazzolla International Airport (MDQ), which is nearly antipodal to Pyongyang Sunan International Airport (meaning Pyongyang Sunan International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Astor Piazzolla International Airport), and is located 12,240 miles (19,699 kilometers) away in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.
• Because of Pyongyang Sunan International Airport's relatively low elevation of 117 feet, planes can take off or land at Pyongyang Sunan 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.