Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Taipei City, Taiwan, Republic of China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport) (TSA), Taipei City, Taiwan, Republic of China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,124 miles (or 9,856 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 Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan 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 Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan 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):

• RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of 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.

Facts about Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport) (TSA):

• The Songshan Airport closing proposal was deferred under the Taipei City Government which has long been dominated by the Pan-Blue Coalition, who prefers the downtown airport connection concept with Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo.
• Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport) (TSA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Taipei Songshan Airport is a midsize commercial airport and military airbase located in Songshan, Taipei, Taiwan.
• Because of Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport)'s relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan 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.
• Regular cross-strait charter flights to mainland China started on 4 July 2008, with Songshan receiving the majority of flights.
• The furthest airport from Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport) (TSA) is Clorinda Airport (CLX), which is nearly antipodal to Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport) (meaning Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport) is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Clorinda Airport), and is located 12,389 miles (19,939 kilometers) away in Clorinda, Formosa, Argentina.
• In addition to being known as "Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport)", other names for TSA include "台北國際航空站台北松山機場" and "Táiběi Guójì HángkōngzhànTáiběi Sōngshān Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport) (TSA) is Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), which is located 21 miles (33 kilometers) W of TSA.
• Due to the introduction of cross-strait flights and future international potential, the airport is undergoing extensive renovations, the first phase of which is expected to be completed by October 2010.
• On 14 June 2010, direct flights between Taipei-Songshan and Shanghai-Hongqiao began.