Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Cocle, Panama:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Río Hato / Scarlett Martinez Airport (RIH), Cocle, Panama would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,266 miles (or 8,475 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 Río Hato / Scarlett Martinez 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 Río Hato / Scarlett Martinez 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 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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 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.

Facts about Río Hato / Scarlett Martinez Airport (RIH):

• Río Hato / Scarlett Martinez Airport (RIH) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Río Hato / Scarlett Martinez Airport's relatively low elevation of 105 feet, planes can take off or land at Río Hato / Scarlett Martinez 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 2011 the government of Panama gave the order to proceed with a project to rebuild the airport.
• Río Hato was also the first combat target for the US Air Force F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter during Operation Just Cause.
• The closest airport to Río Hato / Scarlett Martinez Airport (RIH) is Albrook "Marcos A. Gelabert" International Airport (PAC), which is located 57 miles (91 kilometers) NE of RIH.
• Río Hato Airport, also known as Scarlett Martinez International Airport, is an airport and former Panamanian defense base in Río Hato, Coclé, Panama.
• The furthest airport from Río Hato / Scarlett Martinez Airport (RIH) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Río Hato / Scarlett Martinez Airport (meaning Río Hato / Scarlett Martinez Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,102 miles (19,476 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.