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.
• Madang Airport (MAG) currently has only 1 runway.
• Liberated by Australian Army forces on 24 April 1944.
• Imperial Japanese Army Air Force
• 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.
• The closest airport to Madang Airport (MAG) is Gusap Airport (GAP), which is located 60 miles (96 kilometers) SSE of MAG.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.