Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,008 miles (or 4,840 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 King Abdulaziz 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 King Abdulaziz 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 is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED):

• Because of King Abdulaziz International Airport's relatively low elevation of 48 feet, planes can take off or land at King Abdulaziz 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.
• There will also be a newly constructed support services building, renovation of the existing South and North Terminals and upgrades to the existing runway and airfield systems to accommodate the Airbus A380.
• Southward, Prince Majed Street will connect to the Al-Laith Highway, forming a fast north-south transit route.
• The closest airport to King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) is Ta'if Regional Airport (TIF), which is located 90 miles (145 kilometers) E of JED.
• The Hajj Terminal received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1983.
• At five million square feet, the Jeddah airport Hajj Terminal is estimated to be among the world's largest air terminals after Beijing Capital International Airport, Dubai International Airport and Hong Kong International Airport.
• In addition to being known as "King Abdulaziz International Airport", another name for JED is "مطار الملك عبدالعزيز الدولي".
• King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) has 3 runways.
• King Abdulaziz International Airport handled 27,111,000 passengers last year.
• Designed by the famous Bangladeshi engineer Fazlur Khan of the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, it is known for its tentlike roof structure, engineered by Horst Berger.
• The furthest airport from King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) is Tureira Airport (ZTA), which is nearly antipodal to King Abdulaziz International Airport (meaning King Abdulaziz International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tureira Airport), and is located 12,277 miles (19,758 kilometers) away in Tureia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia.