Nonstop flight route between Mérida, Venezuela and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Alberto Carnevalli Airport (MRD), Mérida, Venezuela and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,874 miles (or 7,844 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 Alberto Carnevalli 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 Alberto Carnevalli 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 Alberto Carnevalli Airport (MRD):

• Because of Alberto Carnevalli Airport's high elevation of 5,007 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MRD. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MRD a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Alberto Carnevalli Airport (MRD) is Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) W of MRD.
• Alberto Carnevalli Airport (MRD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Alberto Carnevalli Airport (MRD) is Tunggul Wulung Airport (CXP), which is nearly antipodal to Alberto Carnevalli Airport (meaning Alberto Carnevalli Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tunggul Wulung Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Cilacap, Java Island, Indonesia.
• In addition to being known as "Alberto Carnevalli Airport", another name for MRD is "Aeropuerto Alberto Carnevalli".

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War.
• 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 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.