Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Galcaio, Somalia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Abdullahi Yusuf International Airport (GLK), Galcaio, Somalia would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,170 miles (or 6,712 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 Abdullahi Yusuf 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 Abdullahi Yusuf 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.

Facts about Abdullahi Yusuf International Airport (GLK):

• The closest airport to Abdullahi Yusuf International Airport (GLK) is Obbia Airport (CMO), which is located 123 miles (198 kilometers) SE of GLK.
• Abdullahi Yusuf International Airport, formerly known as the Galkayo Airport, is an international airport located in Galkayo, the capital of the north-central Mudug region of Somalia.
• Because of Abdullahi Yusuf International Airport's relatively low elevation of 975 feet, planes can take off or land at Abdullahi Yusuf 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.
• The furthest airport from Abdullahi Yusuf International Airport (GLK) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,949 miles (19,230 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• Abdullahi Yusuf International Airport (GLK) has 2 runways.