Nonstop flight route between Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from NBW to FFD:
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- About this route
- NBW Airport Information
- FFD Airport Information
- Facts about NBW
- Facts about FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to NBW
- List of Nearest Airports to NBW
- Map of Furthest Airports from NBW
- List of Furthest Airports from NBW
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW), Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,441 miles (or 7,147 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 United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay 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 United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay and RAF Fairford. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | NBW / KNBW |
| Airport Name: | United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay |
| Location: | Guantanamo Bay, Cuba |
| GPS Coordinates: | 19°53'59"N by 75°9'0"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from NBW |
| More Information: | NBW Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFD / EGVA |
| Airport Name: | RAF Fairford |
| Location: | Fairford, England, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'55"N by 1°47'24"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
| View all routes: | Routes from FFD |
| More Information: | FFD Maps & Info |
Facts about United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW):
- Leeward Point of the Naval Station is the site of the active airfield.
- Beginning in 2002, a small portion of the base was used to detain several hundred alleged combatants at Camp Delta, Camp Echo, Camp Iguana, and the now-closed Camp X-Ray.
- The closest airport to United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW) is Mariana Grajales Airport (GAO), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) N of NBW.
- During the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, the families of military personnel were evacuated from the base.
- The furthest airport from United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW) is RAAF Learmonth (LEA), which is located 11,820 miles (19,022 kilometers) away in Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia.
- Since 2002, the naval base has contained a military prison, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, for alleged unlawful combatants captured in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places.
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.
- RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
- In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
- RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
- 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.
- 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.
- Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
