Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Kikaiga Shima, Kikai-Shima Island, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Kikai Airport (KKX), Kikaiga Shima, Kikai-Shima Island, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,183 miles (or 9,950 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 Kikai 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 Kikai 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.
• 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.
• 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 Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• 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 Kikai Airport (KKX):

• Kikai Airport (KKX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Kikai Airport (KKX) is Amami Airport (ASJ), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) WNW of KKX.
• Because of Kikai Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Kikai 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.
• The furthest airport from Kikai Airport (KKX) is Antônio Correia Pinto de Macedo Airport (LAJ), which is nearly antipodal to Kikai Airport (meaning Kikai Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Antônio Correia Pinto de Macedo Airport), and is located 12,397 miles (19,952 kilometers) away in Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Kikai Airport", other names for KKX include "Kikai/Kikaigashima Island Airport", "喜界空港" and "Kikai Kūkō".