Nonstop flight route between Leo, Burkina Faso and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Leo Airport (XLU), Leo, Burkina Faso and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,804 miles (or 4,512 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 Leo 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 Leo 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 Leo Airport (XLU):

• In addition to being known as "Leo Airport", another name for XLU is "Leo Airport (Leo)".
• The furthest airport from Leo Airport (XLU) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is nearly antipodal to Leo Airport (meaning Leo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Funafuti International Airport), and is located 12,238 miles (19,695 kilometers) away in Funafuti, Tuvalu.
• Leo Airport (XLU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Leo Airport (XLU) is Pô Airport (PUP), which is located 65 miles (104 kilometers) E of XLU.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.
• 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.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.
• 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.