Nonstop flight route between Windhoek, Namibia and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH), Windhoek, Namibia and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,256 miles (or 8,458 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 Hosea Kutako International 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 Hosea Kutako International 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 Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH):

• Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH) has 2 runways.
• Because of Hosea Kutako International Airport's high elevation of 5,640 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at WDH. Combined with a high temperature, this could make WDH a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Hosea Kutako International Airport handled 681,317 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH) is Eros Airport (ERS), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) WSW of WDH.
• Although Hosea Kutako International Airport is the main international airport of Namibia, the only direct international flights are to Angola, Botswana, Germany, Ghana, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
• The furthest airport from Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH) is PMRF Barking Sands (BKH), which is nearly antipodal to Hosea Kutako International Airport (meaning Hosea Kutako International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from PMRF Barking Sands), and is located 12,258 miles (19,727 kilometers) away in Kekaha, Hawaii, United States.
• During South African administration, the airport used to be named J.G.

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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.