Nonstop flight route between Rifle, Colorado, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
(39°31'35"N by 107°43'36"W)
Arrival Airport:
(51°40'55"N by 1°47'24"W)
Distance from RIL to FFD:
4,726.43 miles (7,606.43 km)
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Jump to:
- About this route
- RIL Airport Information
- FFD Airport Information
- Facts about RIL
- Facts about FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to RIL
- List of Nearest Airports to RIL
- Map of Furthest Airports from RIL
- List of Furthest Airports from RIL
- 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 Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL), Rifle, Colorado, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,726 miles (or 7,606 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 Garfield County Regional 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 Garfield County Regional Airport 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: | RIL / KRIL |
| Airport Name: | Garfield County Regional Airport |
| Location: | Rifle, Colorado, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 39°31'35"N by 107°43'36"W |
| Area Served: | Garfield County, Colorado |
| Operator/Owner: | Garfield County |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 5548 feet (1,691 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from RIL |
| More Information: | RIL 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 Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL):
- Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL) is Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) E of RIL.
- Because of Garfield County Regional Airport's high elevation of 5,548 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at RIL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make RIL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The furthest airport from Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,972 miles (17,657 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- 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.
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 43.83 miles (70.53 km) E | Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE) | Eagle, Colorado (near Vail), United States |     |
| 2 | 50.39 miles (81.10 km) ESE | Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE) | Aspen, Colorado, United States | |
| 3 | 51.05 miles (82.15 km) WSW | Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT) | Grand Junction, Colorado, United States | |
| 4 | 67.82 miles (109.14 km) N | Craig–Moffat Airport (CIG) | Craig, Colorado, United States | |
| 5 | 70.81 miles (113.96 km) S | Montrose Regional Airport (MTJ) | Montrose, Colorado, United States | |
| 6 | 71.26 miles (114.68 km) NNE | Yampa Valley Airport (HDN) | Hayden, Colorado, United States | |
| 7 | 78.24 miles (125.91 km) ESE | Lake County Airport (LXV) | Leadville, Colorado, United States | |
| 8 | 80.73 miles (129.93 km) SSE | Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC) | Gunnison, Colorado, United States | |
| 9 | 82.15 miles (132.21 km) NNE | Steamboat Springs Airport (SBS) | Steamboat Springs, Colorado, United States | |
| 10 | 109.09 miles (175.56 km) S | Telluride Regional Airport (TEX) | Telluride, Colorado, United States | |
| 11 | 113.02 miles (181.89 km) SE | Harriet Alexander Field (SLT) | Salida, Colorado, United States | |
| 12 | 113.59 miles (182.80 km) NW | Vernal Regional Airport (VEL) | Vernal, Utah, United States | |
| 13 | 121.03 miles (194.78 km) WSW | Canyonlands Field (CNY) | Moab, Utah, United States | |
| 14 | 137.44 miles (221.19 km) ENE | Boulder Municipal Airport (WBU) | Boulder, Colorado, United States | |
| 15 | 140.34 miles (225.86 km) SW | Monticello Airport (MXC) | Monticello, Utah, United States | |
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 10,971.76 miles (17,657.30 km) SSE | Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG) | Rodrigues Island, Mauritius | |
| 2 | 10,859.41 miles (17,476.48 km) SE | Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU) | Plaisance, Mauritius | |
| 3 | 10,833.54 miles (17,434.85 km) SE | Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE) | Saint-Pierre, Réunion | |
| 4 | 10,812.17 miles (17,400.46 km) SE | Roland Garros Airport (RUN) | St Denis, Réunion, France | |
| 5 | 10,661.10 miles (17,157.34 km) ESE | Tôlanaro Airport (FTU) | Tôlanaro, Madagascar | |
| 6 | 10,541.39 miles (16,964.68 km) SE | Mananjary Airport (MNJ) | Mananjary, Madagascar | |
| 7 | 10,539.21 miles (16,961.18 km) ESE | Ampanihy Airport (AMP) | Ampanihy, Madagascar | |
| 8 | 10,498.21 miles (16,895.18 km) ESE | Fianarantsoa Airport (WFI) | Fianarantsoa, Madagascar | |
| 9 | 10,422.05 miles (16,772.63 km) SE | Toamasino Airport (TMM) | Toamasina, Madagascar | |
| 10 | 10,383.04 miles (16,709.83 km) SE | Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) | Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar | |
| 11 | 10,379.31 miles (16,703.84 km) SE | Ivato International Airport (TNR) | Antananarivo, Madagascar | |
| 12 | 10,369.09 miles (16,687.39 km) ESE | Manja Airport (MJA) | Manja, Menabe, Madagascar | |
| 13 | 10,352.33 miles (16,660.42 km) ESE | Andavadoaka Airport (DVD) | Andavadoaka, Toliara province, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagascar | |
| 14 | 10,340.75 miles (16,641.77 km) ESE | Morombe Airport (MXM) | Morombe, Madagascar | |
| 15 | 10,330.11 miles (16,624.65 km) ESE | Miandrivazo Airport (ZVA) | Miandrivazo, Madagascar | |
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 10.00 miles (16.09 km) ENE | RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) | Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom | |
| 2 | 15.02 miles (24.17 km) SW | RAF Lyneham (LYE) | Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom | |
| 3 | 22.77 miles (36.64 km) ENE | Oxford Airport (OXF) | Oxford, England, United Kingdom | |
| 4 | 30.10 miles (48.45 km) E | RAF Benson (BEX) | Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom | |
| 5 | 36.28 miles (58.38 km) WSW | Bristol Filton Airport (FZO) | Filton, Bristol, United Kingdom | |
| 6 | 42.33 miles (68.12 km) E | RAF High Wycombe (HYC) | High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom | |
| 7 | 44.98 miles (72.38 km) WSW | Bristol Airport (BRS) | Bristol, England, United Kingdom | |
| 8 | 47.23 miles (76.02 km) SE | Lasham Airfield (QLA) | Lasham, England, United Kingdom | |
| 9 | 47.50 miles (76.44 km) ESE | Blackbushe Airport (BBS) | Yateley, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom | |
| 10 | 47.84 miles (76.99 km) SE | RAF Odiham (ODH) | Odiham, United Kingdom | |
| 11 | 49.48 miles (79.64 km) NNE | Coventry Airport (CVT) | Coventry, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom | |
| 12 | 50.42 miles (81.15 km) ENE | Milton Keynes Airport (KYN) | Milton Keynes, England, United Kingdom | |
| 13 | 51.85 miles (83.45 km) ESE | Farnborough Airport (FAB) | Farnborough, United Kingdom | |
| 14 | 53.35 miles (85.85 km) N | Birmingham Airport (BHX) | Birmingham, England, United Kingdom | |
| 15 | 53.92 miles (86.78 km) SSE | Southampton Airport (SOU) | Eastleigh (near Southampton), England, United Kingdom | |
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 11,897.99 miles (19,147.91 km) SE | Dunedin International Airport (DUD) | Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand | |
| 2 | 11,874.86 miles (19,110.69 km) ESE | Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) | Stewart Island, New Zealand | |
| 3 | 11,869.65 miles (19,102.31 km) SE | Oamaru Airport (OAM) | Oamaru, North Otago, New Zealand | |
| 4 | 11,860.18 miles (19,087.07 km) SE | Invercargill Airport (IVC) | Invercargill, New Zealand | |
| 5 | 11,839.51 miles (19,053.79 km) SSW | Chatham Islands (CHT) | Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand | |
| 6 | 11,834.41 miles (19,045.60 km) SE | Alexandra Aerodrome (ALR) | Alexandra, New Zealand | |
| 7 | 11,833.87 miles (19,044.72 km) SE | Richard Pearse Airport (Timaru Airport) (TIU) | Timaru, New Zealand | |
| 8 | 11,822.95 miles (19,027.15 km) SSE | Ashburton Aerodrome (ASG) | Ashburton, New Zealand | |
| 9 | 11,812.41 miles (19,010.18 km) SSE | Christchurch International Airport (CHC) | Christchurch, New Zealand | |
| 10 | 11,804.61 miles (18,997.63 km) SE | Queenstown Airport (ZQN) | Queenstown, New Zealand | |
| 11 | 11,803.98 miles (18,996.62 km) SE | Wanaka Airport (WKA) | Wanaka, New Zealand | |
| 12 | 11,782.42 miles (18,961.92 km) SE | Glentanner Aerodrome (GTN) | Mount Cook, New Zealand | |
| 13 | 11,774.40 miles (18,949.02 km) SE | Mount Cook Airport (MON) | Mount Cook, New Zealand | |
| 14 | 11,761.76 miles (18,928.67 km) SSE | Kaikoura Aerodrome (KBZ) | Kaikoura, New Zealand | |
| 15 | 11,760.44 miles (18,926.54 km) SE | Milford Sound Airport (MFN) | Milford Sound, New Zealand | |