Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and San Cristóbal Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and San Cristóbal Airport (SCY), San Cristóbal Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,175 miles (or 9,937 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 San Cristóbal 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 San Cristóbal 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.
• Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• 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 is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.

Facts about San Cristóbal Airport (SCY):

• Because of San Cristóbal Airport's relatively low elevation of 62 feet, planes can take off or land at San Cristóbal 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 San Cristóbal Airport (SCY) is Sultan Iskandar Muda International Airport (BTJ), which is located 11,965 miles (19,256 kilometers) away in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
• The closest airport to San Cristóbal Airport (SCY) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 55 miles (88 kilometers) NW of SCY.
• San Cristóbal Airport (SCY) currently has only 1 runway.