Nonstop flight route between Nuevo Laredo, Mexico and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Quetzalcóatl International Airport (NLD), Nuevo Laredo, Mexico and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,066 miles (or 8,152 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 Quetzalcóatl International 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 Quetzalcóatl International 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 Quetzalcóatl International Airport (NLD):

• In addition to being known as "Quetzalcóatl International Airport", another name for NLD is "Aeropuerto Internacional Quetzalcóatl".
• The furthest airport from Quetzalcóatl International Airport (NLD) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,234 miles (18,080 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Quetzalcóatl International Airport handled 84,443 passengers last year.
• Quetzalcóatl International Airport (NLD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Quetzalcóatl International Airport (NLD) is Laredo International Airport (LRD), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) NE of NLD.
• Because of Quetzalcóatl International Airport's relatively low elevation of 484 feet, planes can take off or land at Quetzalcóatl International 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.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
• 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.