Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Kerama Islands, Okinawa, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Kerama Airport (KJP), Kerama Islands, Okinawa, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,237 miles (or 10,038 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 Kerama 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 Kerama 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):

• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.

Facts about Kerama Airport (KJP):

• Because of Kerama Airport's relatively low elevation of 156 feet, planes can take off or land at Kerama 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 "Kerama Airport", other names for KJP include "慶良間空港" and "Kerama Kūkō".
• The closest airport to Kerama Airport (KJP) is Naha Airport (OKA), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) E of KJP.
• Kerama Airport (KJP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kerama Airport (KJP) is Paulo Abdala Airport (FBE), which is nearly antipodal to Kerama Airport (meaning Kerama Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Paulo Abdala Airport), and is located 12,413 miles (19,977 kilometers) away in Francisco Beltrao, Paraná, Brazil.