Nonstop flight route between Derry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between City of Derry Airport (LDY), Derry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 321 miles (or 516 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 City of Derry 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 City of Derry Airport (LDY):

• A major redevelopment programme was undertaken by the Council from 1989 to 1993 with grant aid from the European Regional Development Fund.
• In June 2010 it was announced that the Airport was in the final stages of discussion with the Balfour Beatty Group about a management contract, with the objective of bringing additional commercial experience and resources to the Airport for the economic benefit of the region and to reduce the subvention from the City Council.
• After the war the base remained a military establishment until the 1950s when the Ministry of Defence returned much of the land to the original landowners.
• The recently completed runway safety zone extension and apron works has allowed the CAA to lift the capacity restriction on aircraft operating out of the airport.
• In mid-2009 work commenced on dualling the A2 from Maydown to Eglinton and the airport, which now provides a high speed dual carriageway connection to the city.
• City of Derry Airport handled 384,973 passengers last year.
• During 1998 and 1999 safety improvements were undertaken at the airport as a matter of priority.
• In addition to being known as "City of Derry Airport", another name for LDY is "Londonderry/Eglinton Airport[1]".
• In January 2009 the council appointed Albert Harrison, the former head of Belfast International Airport, as the new manager of the airport.
• Because of City of Derry Airport's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at City of Derry 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.
• As of April 2010, it has been reported that the airport has emerged from passenger recession, with passenger numbers released for February of the same year showing an increase over that of the same period for the year before.
• Eglinton Aerodrome, as it is known locally, has a CAA Ordinary Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee.
• The furthest airport from City of Derry Airport (LDY) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,838 miles (19,051 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• City of Derry Airport (LDY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to City of Derry Airport (LDY) is Belfast International Airport (BFS), which is located 46 miles (74 kilometers) SE of LDY.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• In the early years of the Cold War the British and American governments reached an agreement under which elements of the USAF Strategic Air Command would be based in the UK.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.