Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Recife, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport (REC), Recife, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,576 miles (or 7,364 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 Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre 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 Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre 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):

• On 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport (REC):

• On 18 January 1958, a new passenger terminal was inaugurated, replacing the original facility.
• Some of its facilities are shared with the Recife Air Force Base of the Brazilian Air Force.
• On 31 August 2009 Infraero unveiled a BRL 8.75 million investiment plan to upgrade Guararapes International Airport, focusing on the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Recife being one of the venue cities.
• Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport handled 6,840,276 passengers last year.
• Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport (REC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport is the airport of Recife, Brazil.
• The furthest airport from Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport (REC) is Guam International Airport (GUM), which is nearly antipodal to Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport (meaning Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Guam International Airport), and is located 12,066 miles (19,419 kilometers) away in Hagåtña, Guam.
• In addition to being known as "Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport", another name for REC is "Aeroporto Internacional do Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre".
• The closest airport to Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport (REC) is Presidente Castro Pinto International Airport (JPA), which is located 68 miles (109 kilometers) N of REC.
• Because of Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre 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.