Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Townsville, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Townsville Airport (TSV), Townsville, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,624 miles (or 15,489 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 Townsville 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 Townsville 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 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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 the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Townsville Airport (TSV):

• In addition to being known as "Townsville Airport", other names for TSV include "Garbutt Airport" and "Townsville International Airport".
• The furthest airport from Townsville Airport (TSV) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,884 miles (19,125 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• The closest airport to Townsville Airport (TSV) is Charters Towers Airport (CXT), which is located 63 miles (102 kilometers) SSW of TSV.
• With the new demand for international services, Townsville became the first regional Australian airport to offer direct long-distance international flights.
• The Department of Defence was looking for military airfield sites in northern Australia at the time, and almost immediately Townsville Airport was planned for expansion as a Royal Australian Air Force base for three fighter squadrons.
• Because of Townsville Airport's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Townsville 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.
• Townsville Airport handled 1,644,089 passengers last year.
• Townsville Airport (TSV) has 2 runways.
• In October 2002, redevelopment started on the domestic terminal.
• Townsville Airport is a major Australian regional airport that services the city of Townsville.
• Townsville Airport was the first Australian regional city airport to be granted international airport status commencing in 1980.