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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Smithers Regional Airport (YYD), Smithers, British Columbia, Canada and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,439 miles (or 7,144 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 Smithers Regional 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 Smithers Regional 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 Smithers Regional Airport (YYD):

• Originally the runway was 5,000 ft, but it has been expanded to 7,544 ft so that the airport can land larger aircraft.
• The furthest airport from Smithers Regional Airport (YYD) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 10,507 miles (16,909 kilometers) away in Port Alfred, South Africa.
• Smithers Regional Airport (YYD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Smithers Regional Airport (YYD) is Burns Lake Airport (YPZ), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) ESE of YYD.

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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.