Nonstop flight route between Madang, Papua New Guinea and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Madang Airport (MAG), Madang, Papua New Guinea and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,728 miles (or 14,047 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 Madang 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 Madang 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 Madang Airport (MAG):

• During World War II, occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army in January 1943, as a forward operating airfield for aircraft based at Wewak.
• The closest airport to Madang Airport (MAG) is Gusap Airport (GAP), which is located 60 miles (96 kilometers) SSE of MAG.
• Madang Airport (MAG) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Madang Airport (MAG) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,799 miles (18,988 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• 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.
• 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 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.