Nonstop flight route between Valdez, Alaska, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VDZ to FFD:
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- About this route
- VDZ Airport Information
- FFD Airport Information
- Facts about VDZ
- Facts about FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to VDZ
- List of Nearest Airports to VDZ
- Map of Furthest Airports from VDZ
- List of Furthest Airports from VDZ
- 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 Valdez Airport (VDZ), Valdez, Alaska, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,399 miles (or 7,080 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 Valdez 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 Valdez 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: | VDZ / PAVD |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Valdez, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 61°8'2"N by 146°14'53"W |
Area Served: | Valdez, Alaska |
Operator/Owner: | State of Alaska DOT&PF - Northern Region |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 121 feet (37 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from VDZ |
More Information: | VDZ 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 Valdez Airport (VDZ):
- Historically, the airport had scheduled passenger jet service provided by Alaska Airlines during the mid 1970s.
- The closest airport to Valdez Airport (VDZ) is Tatitlek Airport (TEK), which is located 23 miles (38 kilometers) SW of VDZ.
- In addition to being known as "Valdez Airport", another name for VDZ is "Pioneer Field".
- The furthest airport from Valdez Airport (VDZ) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,526 miles (16,940 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
- Because of Valdez Airport's relatively low elevation of 121 feet, planes can take off or land at Valdez 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.
- Valdez Airport (VDZ) currently has only 1 runway.
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 the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle 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.
- 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.
- 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.