Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Astor Piazzolla International Airport (MDQ), Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,045 miles (or 11,338 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 Astor Piazzolla 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 Astor Piazzolla 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):

• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• 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.

Facts about Astor Piazzolla International Airport (MDQ):

• The existing terminal building was constructed in 1978 for the FIFA World Cup.
• Astor Piazzolla International Airport (MDQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Astor Piazzolla International Airport's relatively low elevation of 71 feet, planes can take off or land at Astor Piazzolla 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 "Astor Piazzolla International Airport", another name for MDQ is "Aeropuerto Internacional de Mar del Plata "Ástor Piazzolla"".
• The closest airport to Astor Piazzolla International Airport (MDQ) is Miramar Airport (MJR), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of MDQ.
• The furthest airport from Astor Piazzolla International Airport (MDQ) is Weihai Dashuibo Airport (WEH), which is nearly antipodal to Astor Piazzolla International Airport (meaning Astor Piazzolla International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Weihai Dashuibo Airport), and is located 12,384 miles (19,930 kilometers) away in Weihai, Shandong, China.