Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Handan, Hebei, China:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from FFD to HDG:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- HDG Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about HDG
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to HDG
- List of Nearest Airports to HDG
- Map of Furthest Airports from HDG
- List of Furthest Airports from HDG
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Handan Airport (HDG), Handan, Hebei, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,231 miles (or 8,419 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 Handan 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 Handan Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFD / EGVA |
Airport Name: | RAF Fairford |
Location: | Fairford, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'55"N by 1°47'24"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from FFD |
More Information: | FFD Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | HDG / ZBHD |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Handan, Hebei, China |
GPS Coordinates: | 36°31'26"N by 114°25'48"E |
Operator/Owner: | Handan Airport Co. Ltd. |
Airport Type: | Public |
View all routes: | Routes from HDG |
More Information: | HDG Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of 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.
- Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
- 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.
Facts about Handan Airport (HDG):
- The closest airport to Handan Airport (HDG) is Xingtai Dalian Airport (XNT), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) N of HDG.
- The furthest airport from Handan Airport (HDG) is Santa Rosa Airport (RSA), which is nearly antipodal to Handan Airport (meaning Handan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Rosa Airport), and is located 12,365 miles (19,900 kilometers) away in Santa Rosa, Argentina.
- In addition to being known as "Handan Airport", other names for HDG include "邯郸机场" and "Hándān Jīchǎng".