Nonstop flight route between Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grande Prairie Airport (YQU), Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,224 miles (or 6,797 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 Grande Prairie 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 Grande Prairie 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 Grande Prairie Airport (YQU):

• The closest airport to Grande Prairie Airport (YQU) is Dawson Creek Airport (YDQ), which is located 64 miles (103 kilometers) NW of YQU.
• Grande Prairie Airport (YQU) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Grande Prairie Airport (YQU) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,233 miles (16,469 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.

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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.