Nonstop flight route between Nissan Island, Papua New Guinea and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nissan Island Airport (IIS), Nissan Island, Papua New Guinea and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,898 miles (or 14,319 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 Nissan Island 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 Nissan Island 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 Nissan Island Airport (IIS):

• In addition to being known as "Nissan Island Airport", other names for IIS include "AYIA" and "Nissan Island".
• The furthest airport from Nissan Island Airport (IIS) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,714 miles (18,852 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
• Nissan Island Airport (IIS) currently has only 1 runway.
• In late 1944 airfield roll-up activities were commenced and were completed by August 1945.
• Because of Nissan Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 100 feet, planes can take off or land at Nissan Island Airport 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.
• Lagoon Airfield was abandoned after the war, while Ocean Airfield remained in use as a civilian airfield.
• The closest airport to Nissan Island Airport (IIS) is Buka Island Airport (BUA), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) SSE of IIS.

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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.