Nonstop flight route between Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Puerto Jiménez Airport (PJM), Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,393 miles (or 8,680 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 Puerto Jiménez 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 Puerto Jiménez 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 Puerto Jiménez Airport (PJM):

• The furthest airport from Puerto Jiménez Airport (PJM) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Puerto Jiménez Airport (meaning Puerto Jiménez Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,184 miles (19,608 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Puerto Jiménez Airport (PJM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Puerto Jiménez Airport (PJM) is Golfito Airport (GLF), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NE of PJM.
• Because of Puerto Jiménez Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Puerto Jiménez 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):

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