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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Herat International Airport (HEA), Herat, Afghanistan and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,334 miles (or 5,366 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 Herat 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 Herat 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Herat International Airport (HEA):

• In addition to being known as "Herat International Airport", other names for HEA include "Herat Airport (Herat)" and "Persian: میدان هوایی بین المللی هرات‎".
• The closest airport to Herat International Airport (HEA) is Qala i Naw Airport د قلعه نوهوائی ډګر (LQN), which is located 74 miles (119 kilometers) NE of HEA.
• The furthest airport from Herat International Airport (HEA) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,742 miles (18,897 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Turkish Airlines have planned to commence operations on an Istanbul-Herat route, operating 4 times a week, with an A319 aircraft, 4 times a weekly.
• In May 2005, responsibility was shifted to the International Security Assistance Force, as part of the Stage 2 transition between the U.S.-led coalition and NATO.
• Herat International Airport (HEA) currently has only 1 runway.

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.
• Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use.
• 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.
• Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War.
• 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.