Nonstop flight route between Retalhuleu, Guatemala and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Retalhuleu Airport (RER), Retalhuleu, Guatemala and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,431 miles (or 8,740 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 Retalhuleu 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 Retalhuleu 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 Retalhuleu Airport (RER):

• The closest airport to Retalhuleu Airport (RER) is Coatepeque Airport (CTF), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) NW of RER.
• Retalhuleu Airport (RER) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Retalhuleu Airport (RER) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,841 miles (19,057 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Because of Retalhuleu Airport's relatively low elevation of 656 feet, planes can take off or land at Retalhuleu 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.
• In addition to being known as "Retalhuleu Airport", another name for RER is "Base Aérea del Sur".

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