Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Cork, Ireland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Cork Airport (ORK), Cork, Ireland would travel a Great Circle distance of 287 miles (or 461 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 relatively short distance between RAF Fairford and Cork Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.
• 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.
• RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Cork Airport (ORK):

• The furthest airport from Cork Airport (ORK) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is nearly antipodal to Cork Airport (meaning Cork Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome), and is located 12,063 miles (19,413 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Cork Airport (ORK) is Bantry Aerodrome (BYT), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) WSW of ORK.
• In 1975 Aer Rianta, the then state airports authority, undertook a passenger terminal study aimed at improving the terminal facilities.
• In 2005, Ryanair opened its 15th European base and second Irish base at Cork.
• The cargo area, currently located to the north–east of the airport, is planned to be moved to the south–east of the airport grounds, the current location of the general aviation area.
• Cork Airport has a long history of general aviation flying.
• Cork Airport is one of the three principal international airports of Ireland, along with Dublin and Shannon.
• Cork Airport handled 2,340,141 passengers last year.
• With an elevation of 153 m above sea level, Cork Airport is sometimes prone to fog and a low cloud ceiling.
• Cork Airport (ORK) has 2 runways.
• Because of Cork Airport's relatively low elevation of 502 feet, planes can take off or land at Cork 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 "Cork Airport", another name for ORK is "Aerfort Chorcaí".