Nonstop flight route between Jijiga, Ethiopia and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wilwal International Airport (JIJ), Jijiga, Ethiopia and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,855 miles (or 6,205 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 Wilwal 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 Wilwal 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 Wilwal International Airport (JIJ):

• Because of Wilwal International Airport's high elevation of 5,413 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at JIJ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make JIJ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Wilwal International Airport (JIJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Wilwal International Airport (JIJ) is Borama Airport (BXX), which is located 46 miles (73 kilometers) NNE of JIJ.
• Jijiga's original airfield is located northwest of the city center at 09°21′38″N 42°47′16″E / 9.36056°N 42.78778°E / 9.36056.
• The furthest airport from Wilwal International Airport (JIJ) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is nearly antipodal to Wilwal International Airport (meaning Wilwal International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Atuona Airport), and is located 12,302 miles (19,799 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• 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.
• 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 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.