Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Tehran, Iran:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA), Tehran, Iran would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,806 miles (or 4,515 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 Tehran Imam Khomeini 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 Tehran Imam Khomeini 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):

• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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 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.
• 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 Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA):

• The closest airport to Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA) is Mehrabad Airport (THR), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) NNE of IKA.
• The airport reopened on 13 May, as deputy head of Iran's Joint Chiefs of staff Brigadier-General Alireza Afshar stated "because foreign companies will no longer be in charge of the airport's operation, security obstacles are removed."
• TAV officials, who had agreed to clear out for two weeks for the dispute to be settled, also stated that they believed the memorandum of understanding they signed with the Iranian government last year to operate the airport's Terminal 1 is still in effect.
• In addition to being known as "Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport", another name for IKA is "فرودگاه امام خمینی".
• The furthest airport from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,511 miles (18,525 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA) has 2 runways.
• The original opening was scheduled for 11 February 2004, the onset of the auspicious "Ten-Day Dawn" celebrations, marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
• Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport handled 4,986,477 passengers last year.
• However, on 8 May, a few hours after the opening of airport, the Revolutionary Guards of the Iranian Armed Forces closed it, citing security fears over the use of foreigners in the running of the airport.
• IKA is equipped with the ILS since August 2009.