Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Maamigili, Maldives:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Villa International Airport (VAM), Maamigili, Maldives would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,374 miles (or 8,649 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 Villa International 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 Villa International 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):

• 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 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Villa International Airport (VAM):

• Because of Villa International Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Villa International 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 closest airport to Villa International Airport (VAM) is Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) NE of VAM.
• Villa International Airport, also known as Maamigili Airport, is located on the island of Maamigili in Alif Dhaal Atoll in the Maldives and was opened on October 1, 2011 as a domestic airport.
• The furthest airport from Villa International Airport (VAM) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,252 miles (18,108 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• Villa International Airport (VAM) currently has only 1 runway.
• Maamigili Airport Airside, March 2013