Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Kailua / Kona, Hawaii, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA), Kailua / Kona, Hawaii, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,262 miles (or 11,688 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 Kona International Airport at Keāhole, 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 Kona International Airport at Keāhole. 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):

• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.

Facts about Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA):

• The closest airport to Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA) is Pōhakuloa Training Area (BSF), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) ENE of KOA.
• Kona International Airport at Keāhole handled 2,649,493 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA) is Maun Airport (MUB), which is nearly antipodal to Kona International Airport at Keāhole (meaning Kona International Airport at Keāhole is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maun Airport), and is located 12,399 miles (19,954 kilometers) away in Maun, Botswana.
• Because of Kona International Airport at Keāhole's relatively low elevation of 47 feet, planes can take off or land at Kona International Airport at Keāhole 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.
• Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Kona International Airport at Keāhole", another name for KOA is "Kona International Airport".
• Kona International Airport at Keāhole is on the Island of Hawaiʻi, in Kalaoa CDP, Hawaiʻi County, Hawaiʻi, United States.
• It was originally known as Ke-āhole Airport, since the ʻāhole fish was found nearby.