Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Misima Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Misima Airport (MIS), Misima Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,266 miles (or 14,912 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 Misima 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 Misima 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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 Misima Airport (MIS):

• The closest airport to Misima Airport (MIS) is Guasopa Airport (GAZ), which is located 101 miles (162 kilometers) N of MIS.
• Misima Airport (MIS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Misima Airport's relatively low elevation of 89 feet, planes can take off or land at Misima 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 Misima Airport (MIS) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is nearly antipodal to Misima Airport (meaning Misima Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from São Filipe Airport), and is located 12,095 miles (19,465 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.