Nonstop flight route between Gaza, Palestine and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) (GZA), Gaza, Palestine and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,303 miles (or 3,707 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 relatively short distance between Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) and RAF Fairford, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) (GZA):

• Because of Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED)'s relatively low elevation of 320 feet, planes can take off or land at Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) 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 addition to being known as "Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED)", another name for GZA is "مطار ياسر عرفات الدولي".
• The closest airport to Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) (GZA) is Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK), which is located only 8 miles (14 kilometers) N of GZA.
• Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) (GZA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport opened in 1998.
• Because of the short supply in construction materials in Gaza, stones of the airport's tarmac are used for rebuilding other structures.
• The furthest airport from Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) (GZA) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,736 miles (18,887 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• The construction of the airport was provided for in the Oslo II Agreement of 1995.
• The International Civil Aviation Organization strongly condemned Israel for the destruction of the airport, which it deemed a violation of the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.
• The 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
• 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 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.