Nonstop flight route between Francistown, Botswana and Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW), Francistown, Botswana and RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,335 miles (or 8,586 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 Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base and RAF Brize Norton, 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 Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base and RAF Brize Norton. 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 Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW):

• The airport received plans for reconstruction and expansion in 2008 to be completed in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as Francistown could receive an influx of foreign tourists due to the World Cup in neighbouring South Africa.
• The furthest airport from Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (meaning Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,246 miles (19,707 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• The closest airport to Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) is Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ), which is located 108 miles (174 kilometers) NE of FRW.
• Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) has 2 runways.
• However, currently the project is expected to miss its May deadline, after the airport in Gaborone also missed its deadline set date for May 10, 2010, with contractors at both sites struggling to finalise each stage of construction in time.
• Two new runways are being added as well as the renovations of the current ones.
• In addition to being known as "Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base", another name for FRW is "FBFT [1]".

Facts about RAF Brize Norton (BZZ):

• The furthest airport from RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,888 miles (19,132 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Following the Falklands War, the RAF found itself lacking in the strategic transport capabilities required to sustain the expanded military presence there.
• The closest airport to RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WSW of BZZ.
• On 12 August 2006, campaigners restricted access at the main entrance for several hours in a protest against British policy in the Middle East.
• In 1970 two squadrons 99 Squadron and 511 Squadron operating the Bristol Britannia moved from RAF Lyneham.
• Major infrastructure redevelopment began in 2010 ahead of the closure of RAF Lyneham in 2012, at which point Brize Norton became the sole air point of embarkation for British troops.
• The Hercules fleet at RAF Lyneham officially moved to Brize Norton on 1 July 2011.
• To accommodate this expansion, a major infrastructure redevelopment, "Programme Future Brize" was established in 2009.