Nonstop flight route between Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Merimbula Airport (MIM), Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,722 miles (or 17,255 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 Merimbula 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 Merimbula 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 Merimbula Airport (MIM):

• Merimbula Airport (MIM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Merimbula Airport (MIM) is Moruya Airport (MYA), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) N of MIM.
• Because of Merimbula Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Merimbula 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.
• The furthest airport from Merimbula Airport (MIM) is Horta International Airport (HOR), which is nearly antipodal to Merimbula Airport (meaning Merimbula Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Horta International Airport), and is located 12,302 miles (19,799 kilometers) away in Horta, Azores, Portugal.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.