Nonstop flight route between Gitega, Burundi and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gitega Airport (GID), Gitega, Burundi and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,238 miles (or 6,821 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 Gitega Airport and RAF Fairford, 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 Gitega Airport and RAF Fairford. 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 Gitega Airport (GID):

• The furthest airport from Gitega Airport (GID) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,925 miles (19,192 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• Because of Gitega Airport's high elevation of 5,741 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GID. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GID a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Gitega Airport (GID) is Bujumbura International Airport (BJM), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) W of GID.

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.
• 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.