Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Mirabel (near Montreal), Quebec, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Montréal–Mirabel International Airport (YMX), Mirabel (near Montreal), Quebec, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,185 miles (or 5,126 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 Montréal–Mirabel 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 Montréal–Mirabel 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):

• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.

Facts about Montréal–Mirabel International Airport (YMX):

• Because of Montréal–Mirabel International Airport's relatively low elevation of 271 feet, planes can take off or land at Montréal–Mirabel 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.
• In July 2010, the ADM confirmed that I-Parks Creative Industries's long-delayed AeroDream project was dead, officially canceling it.
• The federal government expropriation resulted in making Mirabel the world's largest airport by property area.
• The closest airport to Montréal–Mirabel International Airport (YMX) is Cartierville Airport (YCV), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) SE of YMX.
• In 1989, 81,000 acres of the 98,000 acres were deeded back to their owners.
• To ensure Mirabel's survival, all international flights for Montréal were banned from Dorval from 1975 to 1997.
• Montréal–Mirabel International Airport (YMX) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Montréal–Mirabel International Airport (YMX) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,493 miles (18,495 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport is classified as an airport of entry by NAV CANADA and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency.
• The initial location of Mirabel was supposed to be a major justification for the project, not only because of its expansion room, but also the afforded buffer which would significantly reduce noise pollution in urban areas.
• It is one of two airports in Canada with sufficient right-of-way that can be expanded to accommodate 50 million passengers per year, the other being Toronto Pearson International Airport, though a lack of traffic meant that Mirabel was never expanded beyond its first phase.
• In addition to being known as "Montréal–Mirabel International Airport", another name for YMX is "Aéroport international Montréal–Mirabel".