Nonstop flight route between Marcoola, Queensland, Australia and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sunshine-Coast-Airport (MCY), Marcoola, Queensland, Australia and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,265 miles (or 16,520 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 Sunshine-Coast-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 Sunshine-Coast-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 Sunshine-Coast-Airport (MCY):

• The main airport shuttle service is run by SunAir.
• The airport master plan proposes building a new 2,450 m Runway 13/31 some time before 2020.
• Sunshine-Coast-Airport (MCY) has 2 runways.
• The airport handles aircraftmovements of around 87,000 per annum, has a capacity of 900,000 passengermovements per annum.
• The closest airport to Sunshine-Coast-Airport (MCY) is Caloundra Airport (CUD), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) S of MCY.
• The terminal is modern and of high-quality for a regional airport.
• The furthest airport from Sunshine-Coast-Airport (MCY) is La Palma Airport (SPC), which is located 11,859 miles (19,086 kilometers) away in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.
• Because of Sunshine-Coast-Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Sunshine-Coast-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.
• On 3 June 2010, the airport changed its name from 'Maroochydore-Sunshine Coast Airport' to Sunshine Coast Airport and changed its ICAO code from YBMC to YBSU.

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.
• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.