Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Simla, Himachal Pradesh, India:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Shimla Airport (SLV), Simla, Himachal Pradesh, India would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,110 miles (or 6,615 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 Shimla 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 Shimla 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 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.
• 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 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.
• 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 closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.

Facts about Shimla Airport (SLV):

• The closest airport to Shimla Airport (SLV) is Chandigarh Airport (IXC), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) SSW of SLV.
• The furthest airport from Shimla Airport (SLV) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,961 miles (19,249 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Shimla Airport (SLV) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Shimla Airport", another name for SLV is "शिमला हवाई अड्डा".
• Because of Shimla Airport's high elevation of 5,072 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SLV. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SLV a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.