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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Port Macquarie Airport (PQQ), Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,539 miles (or 16,961 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 Port Macquarie 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 Port Macquarie 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 Port Macquarie Airport (PQQ):

• Port Macquarie Airport (PQQ) has 2 runways.
• Because of Port Macquarie Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Macquarie 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.
• Port Macquarie Airport handled 218,897 passengers last year.
• Connections to Brisbane by Brindabella Airlines ceased 31 December 2010, citing poor loads on the route.
• The closest airport to Port Macquarie Airport (PQQ) is Kempsey Airport (KPS), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) NNW of PQQ.
• Competition by Virgin resulted in a significant drop in fare prices for the Port Macquarie - Sydney route, where Qantas previously operated a monopoly after Hazelton Airlines ceased services in 2001.
• The furthest airport from Port Macquarie Airport (PQQ) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Port Macquarie Airport (meaning Port Macquarie Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,038 miles (19,373 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.
• 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.