Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Qinhuangdao, Hebei, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airport (SHP), Qinhuangdao, Hebei, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,195 miles (or 8,361 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 Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan 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 Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan 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):

• 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.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• 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.
• RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
• 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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 Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airport (SHP):

• Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airport (SHP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airport (SHP) is Tangshan Sannühe Airport (TVS), which is located 94 miles (151 kilometers) W of SHP.
• The furthest airport from Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airport (SHP) is Tres Arroyos Airport (OYO), which is nearly antipodal to Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airport (meaning Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tres Arroyos Airport), and is located 12,328 miles (19,839 kilometers) away in Tres Arroyos, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.
• In addition to being known as "Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airport", other names for SHP include "秦皇岛山海关机场" and "Qínhuángdǎo Shānhǎiguān Jīchǎng".