Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Itami (near Osaka), Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Osaka International Airport (ITM), Itami (near Osaka), Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,926 miles (or 9,537 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 Osaka 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 Osaka 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.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.

Facts about Osaka International Airport (ITM):

• The closest airport to Osaka International Airport (ITM) is Osaka International Airport (OSA), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of ITM.
• Itami Airport opened as No.
• Because of Osaka International Airport's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Osaka 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.
• In addition to being known as "Osaka International Airport", other names for ITM include "Itami International Airport", "大阪国際空港" and "Ōsaka Kokusai Kūkō".
• The government proposed changing Itami's status from first-class airport to second-class airport, which would saddle local governments with one-third of its operating costs.
• The furthest airport from Osaka International Airport (ITM) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,960 miles (19,248 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Osaka International Airport (ITM) has 2 runways.
• In September 2013, NKIAC announced that it would acquire Osaka Airport Terminal Co.
• Jet flights at Itami began on June 1, 1964, and triggered complaints by neighboring residents about noise pollution.
• There have been various plans and studies to improve rail access to the airport, including spurs from the JR Takarazuka Line and Hankyu Takarazuka Line, an extension of the Osaka Monorail to central Itami and a separate light rail connection between the airport and central Itami, but none of these studies have been implemented due to financial considerations as well as limited capacity on the existing rail lines to the area.