Nonstop flight route between Sirte, Libya and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ghardabiya Air Base (SRX), Sirte, Libya and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,704 miles (or 2,743 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 relatively short distance between Ghardabiya Air Base and RAF Fairford, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Ghardabiya Air Base (SRX):

• Because of Ghardabiya Air Base's relatively low elevation of 266 feet, planes can take off or land at Ghardabiya Air Base 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 closest airport to Ghardabiya Air Base (SRX) is Misrata International Airport (MRA), which is located 126 miles (203 kilometers) NW of SRX.
• In addition to being known as "Ghardabiya Air Base", other names for SRX include "Gardabya Airport" and "SRX [1]".
• The furthest airport from Ghardabiya Air Base (SRX) is Rarotonga International Airport (RAR), which is located 11,720 miles (18,862 kilometers) away in Avarua, Cook Islands.
• Ghardabiya Air Base (SRX) has 2 runways.
• Due to the 2011 Libyan civil war all flights were suspended however since the end of the conflict Libyan Airlines have resumed service, it is currently unknown if Air Libya Tibesti is using the airport.
• Ghardabiya Air Base is a dual-function airbase for the Libyan Air Force south of the city of Sirte.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.