Nonstop flight route between Braintree, England, United Kingdom and Bagram, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF), Braintree, England, United Kingdom and Bagram Airfield (OAI), Bagram, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,499 miles (or 5,631 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 MDPGA Wethersfield and Bagram Airfield, 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 MDPGA Wethersfield and Bagram Airfield. 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 MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF):

• On 21 September the 416th moved to their Advanced Landing Ground at Melun/Villaroche France.
• As the American involvement in the Vietnam War wound down, the role of RED HORSE units in peacetime came into question.
• In addition to being known as "MDPGA Wethersfield", another name for WXF is "RAF Wethersfield".
• MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) has 3 runways.
• Because of MDPGA Wethersfield's relatively low elevation of 322 feet, planes can take off or land at MDPGA Wethersfield 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 fighter squadrons of the 20th had been in constant rotation since the arrival of the wing at Wethersfield in 1952.
• The closest airport to MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is London Stansted Airport (STN), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) WSW of WXF.
• The furthest airport from MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,856 miles (19,080 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The 416th Bombardment Group arrived at Wethersfield from Laurel Army Airfield, Mississippi, on 1 February 1944, flying the twin-engine Douglas A-20G "Havoc" aircraft.
• The 20th began realigning its units 15 March 1957 as part of an Air Force worldwide reorganization.

Facts about Bagram Airfield (OAI):

• The furthest airport from Bagram Airfield (OAI) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,894 miles (19,141 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• In May 2010, a group of "nearly a dozen" insurgents attacked around the north end of the base.
• In October 2009 The State reported on Bagram's expansion.
• Bagram Airfield (OAI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The Kabul International Airport is about 25 miles south of Bagram, connected by two separate roads.
• The airport at Bagram was originally built in the 1950s, during the Cold War, at a time when the United States and neighboring Soviet Union were busy spreading influence in Afghanistan.
• Because of Bagram Airfield's high elevation of 4,895 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at OAI. Combined with a high temperature, this could make OAI a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Bagram Airfield", other names for OAI include "Bagram Airport (Bagram)" and "د بګرام هوائی ډګر".
• The closest airport to Bagram Airfield (OAI) is Kabul International Airport (KBL), which is located 26 miles (43 kilometers) S of OAI.
• Control of the base was contested from 1999 onward between the Northern Alliance and Taliban, often with each controlling territory on opposing ends of the base.