Nonstop flight route between Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,008 miles (or 4,840 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 King Abdulaziz 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 King Abdulaziz 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 King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED):

• The General Authority of Civil Aviation has the GACA Hangar at the airport.
• King Abdulaziz International Airport handled 27,111,000 passengers last year.
• King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) has 3 runways.
• In addition to being known as "King Abdulaziz International Airport", another name for JED is "مطار الملك عبدالعزيز الدولي".
• There will also be a newly constructed support services building, renovation of the existing South and North Terminals and upgrades to the existing runway and airfield systems to accommodate the Airbus A380.
• The furthest airport from King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) is Tureira Airport (ZTA), which is nearly antipodal to King Abdulaziz International Airport (meaning King Abdulaziz International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tureira Airport), and is located 12,277 miles (19,758 kilometers) away in Tureia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) is Ta'if Regional Airport (TIF), which is located 90 miles (145 kilometers) E of JED.
• Because of King Abdulaziz International Airport's relatively low elevation of 48 feet, planes can take off or land at King Abdulaziz International 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.
• At five million square feet, the Jeddah airport Hajj Terminal is estimated to be among the world's largest air terminals after Beijing Capital International Airport, Dubai International Airport and Hong Kong International Airport.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle 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.
• 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.
• 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.