Nonstop flight route between Guarulhos (near São Paulo), São Paulo (state), Brazil and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from GRU to FFD:
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- About this route
- GRU Airport Information
- FFD Airport Information
- Facts about GRU
- Facts about FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to GRU
- List of Nearest Airports to GRU
- Map of Furthest Airports from GRU
- List of Furthest Airports from GRU
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU), Guarulhos (near São Paulo), São Paulo (state), Brazil and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,852 miles (or 9,418 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 São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International 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 São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport and RAF Fairford. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GRU / SBGR |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Guarulhos (near São Paulo), São Paulo (state), Brazil |
GPS Coordinates: | 23°26'8"S by 46°28'23"W |
Area Served: | São Paulo |
Operator/Owner: | Invepar-ACSA |
Airport Type: | Public/Military |
Elevation: | 2459 feet (750 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from GRU |
More Information: | GRU Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFD / EGVA |
Airport Name: | RAF Fairford |
Location: | Fairford, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'55"N by 1°47'24"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from FFD |
More Information: | FFD Maps & Info |
Facts about São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU):
- Viação Cometa offers daily departures to and from the airport and the cities of Santos, São Vicente, and Praia Grande.
- In order to relieve the acute overcrowding at Terminals 1 and 2, Infraero announced on May 17, 2011 that the former cargo terminals of defunct airlines VASP and Transbrasil, later used by Federal Agencies, would undergo renovations and adaptations for use as domestic passenger terminals with remote boarding.
- The closest airport to São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU) is São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) SW of GRU.
- The furthest airport from São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU) is Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), which is nearly antipodal to São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport (meaning São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Minami-Daito Airport), and is located 12,218 miles (19,663 kilometers) away in Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan.
- However, Infraero experienced many legal and bureaucratic difficulties, which prevented most of these improvements from being completed on schedule.
- In addition to being known as "São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport", another name for GRU is "Aeroporto Internacional de São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro".
- São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU) has 2 runways.
- Construction of Terminal 3, capable of handling 12 million passengers per year, had been planned since 2001 but due to a myriad of political and economic problems, the actual construction didn't begin until 2011.
- São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport handled 36,460,923 passengers last year.
Facts about RAF Fairford (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.
- 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.
- Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
- On 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- 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.