Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Maripasoula, French Guiana:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Maripasoula Airport (MPY), Maripasoula, French Guiana would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,464 miles (or 7,183 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 Maripasoula 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 Maripasoula 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.
• 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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 Maripasoula Airport (MPY):

• Because of Maripasoula Airport's relatively low elevation of 377 feet, planes can take off or land at Maripasoula 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.
• Maripasoula Airport (MPY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Maripasoula Airport (MPY) is Drietabbetje Airstrip (DRJ), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) NW of MPY.
• The furthest airport from Maripasoula Airport (MPY) is Namrole Airport (NRE), which is nearly antipodal to Maripasoula Airport (meaning Maripasoula Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Namrole Airport), and is located 12,384 miles (19,930 kilometers) away in Buru, Indonesia.