Nonstop flight route between Ghazni, Afghanistan and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ghazni Airport (GZI), Ghazni, Afghanistan and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,629 miles (or 5,840 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 Ghazni 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 Ghazni 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 Ghazni Airport (GZI):

• Ghazni Airport (GZI) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Ghazni Airport's high elevation of 7,126 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GZI. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GZI a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Ghazni Airport (GZI) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,978 miles (19,277 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• The closest airport to Ghazni Airport (GZI) is Sardeh Band Airport (SBF), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) SE of GZI.
• In addition to being known as "Ghazni Airport", other names for GZI include "Ghazni Airport (Ghazni)" and "د غزنی نړیوال هوایی ډګر".

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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 was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.