Nonstop flight route between Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vancouver International Airport (YVR), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,663 miles (or 7,505 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 Vancouver International 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 Vancouver International 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 Vancouver International Airport (YVR):

• Since 1992, the Vancouver Airport Authority has been working with an independent accessibility consultant to eliminate the physical barriers in the built environment, and is "committed to providing fully accessible terminal facilities for people of all backgrounds and capabilities".
• The South Terminal houses the corporate headquarters of Pacific Coastal Airlines.
• In May 2005, the federal government, which owns the airport land, announced it was cutting rent costs by 54%.
• The furthest airport from Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,685 miles (17,196 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Vancouver International Airport (YVR) has 3 runways.
• Because of Vancouver International Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Vancouver International 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.
• The airport's reputation as a gateway airport between Asia and North America was made evident during Operation Yellow Ribbon on September 11, 2001.
• The closest airport to Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is Vancouver Harbour Water Airport (CXH), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) NNE of YVR.
• Vancouver Airport also has numerous features that have been implemented to assist visually impaired travellers.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• 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.
• Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of 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.