Nonstop flight route between Yiwu, Zhejiang, China and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Yiwu Airport (YIW), Yiwu, Zhejiang, China and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,824 miles (or 9,372 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 Yiwu 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 Yiwu 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 Yiwu Airport (YIW):

• Yiwu Airport (YIW) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 6 January 2012, construction commenced for a new international terminal.
• Yiwu Airport handled 761,938 passengers last year.
• Yiwu airport was originally a military training airfield for the People's Liberation Army Navy.
• The closest airport to Yiwu Airport (YIW) is Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) NNE of YIW.
• The furthest airport from Yiwu Airport (YIW) is Reconquista Airport (RCQ), which is nearly antipodal to Yiwu Airport (meaning Yiwu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Reconquista Airport), and is located 12,417 miles (19,983 kilometers) away in Reconquista, Santa Fe, Argentina.
• In addition to being known as "Yiwu Airport", other names for YIW include "义乌机场" and "Yìwū Jīchǎng".

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• The runway was completed in 1953, and served as a forward airbase for the first Convair B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.
• Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War.
• The 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
• 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 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.