Nonstop flight route between Nairobi, Kenya and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WIL to FFD:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- WIL Airport Information
- FFD Airport Information
- Facts about WIL
- Facts about FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to WIL
- List of Nearest Airports to WIL
- Map of Furthest Airports from WIL
- List of Furthest Airports from WIL
- 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 Wilson Airport (WIL), Nairobi, Kenya and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,298 miles (or 6,917 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 Wilson 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 Wilson 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: | WIL / HKNW |
| Airport Name: | Wilson Airport |
| Location: | Nairobi, Kenya |
| GPS Coordinates: | 1°19'12"S by 36°48'53"E |
| Area Served: | Nairobi |
| Operator/Owner: | Kenya Airports Authority |
| Airport Type: | Public, Civilian |
| Elevation: | 5546 feet (1,690 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from WIL |
| More Information: | WIL 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 Wilson Airport (WIL):
- Airkenya and other small airlines use Wilson Airport for scheduled domestic passenger services, instead of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
- The closest airport to Wilson Airport (WIL) is Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) E of WIL.
- The airport was established in 1933 as Nairobi Aerodrome and was used by Imperial Airways Empire air mail services from the United Kingdom via Egypt and continuing in stages to South Africa.
- Wilson Airport (WIL) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Wilson Airport (WIL) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,619 miles (18,698 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
- Because of Wilson Airport's high elevation of 5,546 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at WIL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make WIL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
- Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use.
- 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 is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- 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.
