Nonstop flight route between Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rockhampton Airport (ROK), Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,991 miles (or 16,078 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 Rockhampton 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 Rockhampton 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 Rockhampton Airport (ROK):

• In 1929, the lease to a former racecourse, Connor Park, was acquired by a number of aspiring aviators, and they set about making it suitable for aircraft.
• Rockhampton Airport is a major Australian regional airport that services the city of Rockhampton, with flights to the cites of Brisbane, Gladstone, Cairns, Townsville and Mackay.
• In 2011, the airport handled 701,062 passengers and 12,606 aircraftmovements, a drop from the 2010 figure of 777,212 passengers and 14,602 aircraft.
• The closest airport to Rockhampton Airport (ROK) is Gladstone Airport (GLT), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) SE of ROK.
• Rockhampton Airport (ROK) has 2 runways.
• Because of Rockhampton Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Rockhampton 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.
• The Rockhampton Airport was named the 2007 Australian Major Airport of the Year at the prestigious National Awards in recognition of Excellence in Australian Aviation, in Melbourne on 13 November 2007.
• The furthest airport from Rockhampton Airport (ROK) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,922 miles (19,187 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• Rockhampton Airport handled 701,062 passengers last year.

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.
• 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.
• RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
• 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.