Nonstop flight route between Jinchang, Gansu, China and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Jinchang Jinchuan Airport (JIC), Jinchang, Gansu, China and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,716 miles (or 7,590 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 Jinchang Jinchuan 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 Jinchang Jinchuan 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 Jinchang Jinchuan Airport (JIC):

• The furthest airport from Jinchang Jinchuan Airport (JIC) is Pichoy Airport (ZAL), which is nearly antipodal to Jinchang Jinchuan Airport (meaning Jinchang Jinchuan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Pichoy Airport), and is located 12,180 miles (19,602 kilometers) away in Valdivia, Chile.
• Jinchang Jinchuan Airport (JIC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Jinchang Jinchuan Airport (JIC) is Alxa Right Banner Badanjilin Airport (RHT), which is located 60 miles (96 kilometers) NW of JIC.
• In addition to being known as "Jinchang Jinchuan Airport", other names for JIC include "金昌金川机场" and "Jīnchāng Jīnchuān Jīchǎng".

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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.
• 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.
• 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.