Nonstop flight route between Tambacounda, Senegal and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tambacounda Airport (TUD), Tambacounda, Senegal and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,704 miles (or 4,351 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 Tambacounda 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 Tambacounda 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 Tambacounda Airport (TUD):

• The closest airport to Tambacounda Airport (TUD) is Simenti Airport (SMY), which is located 53 miles (86 kilometers) SSE of TUD.
• The furthest airport from Tambacounda Airport (TUD) is Vanua Lava Airport (SLH), which is nearly antipodal to Tambacounda Airport (meaning Tambacounda Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Vanua Lava Airport), and is located 12,357 miles (19,886 kilometers) away in Sola, Vanua Lava, Torba Province, Vanuatu.
• Tambacounda Airport (TUD) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Tambacounda Airport's relatively low elevation of 161 feet, planes can take off or land at Tambacounda 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.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.