Nonstop flight route between London, England, United Kingdom and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between London City Airport (LCY), London, England, United Kingdom and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 80 miles (or 129 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 relatively short distance between London City Airport and RAF Fairford, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about London City Airport (LCY):

• In 1988, the first full year of operation, the airport handled 133,000 passengers.
• Due to the airport's proximity to Central London, it has stringent rules imposed to limit the noise impact from aircraft operations.
• The airport was first proposed in 1981 by Reg Ward, who was Chief Executive of the newly formed London Docklands Development Corporation that was responsible for the regeneration of the area.
• London City Airport handled 3,379,753 passengers last year.
• London City Airport (LCY) currently has only 1 runway.
• London City Airport has a single 1,500-metre long runway, and a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flight training.
• Corporate aircraft such as the Beechcraft Super King Air, Cessna CitationJet series, Hawker 400, Hawker 800, Piaggio Avanti and variants of the Dassault Falcon business jets are increasingly common.
• Construction began on the site shortly after permission was granted, with Charles, Prince of Wales laying the foundation stone of the terminal building, designed by R Seifert and Partners, on 2 May 1986.
• By 1995 passenger numbers reached half a million, and Mowlem sold the airport to Irish businessman Dermot Desmond.
• Because of London City Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at London City 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.
• London City is at its busiest during the winter months, when a number of airlines, most notably British Airways, Swiss and CityJet, fly to ski resort gateway destinations.
• The closest airport to London City Airport (LCY) is London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) S of LCY.
• The furthest airport from London City Airport (LCY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,881 miles (19,121 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

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.
• 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• 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.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• 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.