Nonstop flight route between British Columbia, Canada and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
![Get maps and more information about Alert Bay Airport Get airport maps and more information about Alert Bay Airport](images/takeoff-icon.gif)
Arrival Airport:
![Get maps and more information about RAF Fairford Get airport maps and more information about RAF Fairford](images/landing-icon.gif)
Distance from YAL to FFD:
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- About this route
- YAL Airport Information
- FFD Airport Information
- Facts about YAL
- Facts about FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to YAL
- List of Nearest Airports to YAL
- Map of Furthest Airports from YAL
- List of Furthest Airports from YAL
- 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 Alert Bay Airport (YAL), British Columbia, Canada and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,677 miles (or 7,527 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 Alert Bay 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 Alert Bay 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: | YAL / CYAL |
Airport Name: | Alert Bay Airport |
Location: | British Columbia, Canada |
GPS Coordinates: | 50°34'55"N by 126°54'56"W |
Operator/Owner: | Corporation of Village of Alert Bay |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 240 feet (73 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from YAL |
More Information: | YAL 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 Alert Bay Airport (YAL):
- Because of Alert Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 240 feet, planes can take off or land at Alert Bay 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.
- Alert Bay Airport (YAL) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Alert Bay Airport (YAL) is Port McNeill Airport (YMP), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) W of YAL.
- The furthest airport from Alert Bay Airport (YAL) is East London Airport (ELS), which is located 10,675 miles (17,179 kilometers) away in East London, South Africa.
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
- 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.
- 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 the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
- 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.
- 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.