Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Kigali, Rwanda:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to KGL:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- KGL Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about KGL
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to KGL
- List of Nearest Airports to KGL
- Map of Furthest Airports from KGL
- List of Furthest Airports from KGL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Kigali International Airport (KGL), Kigali, Rwanda would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,150 miles (or 6,679 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 RAF Fairford and Kigali International Airport, 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 RAF Fairford and Kigali International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | KGL / HRYR |
Airport Name: | Kigali International Airport |
Location: | Kigali, Rwanda |
GPS Coordinates: | 1°57'59"S by 30°7'59"E |
Area Served: | Kigali |
Operator/Owner: | Rwanda Airports Authority |
Airport Type: | Civil aviation airport |
Elevation: | 4891 feet (1,491 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from KGL |
More Information: | KGL Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- 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.
- KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
- 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 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.
- RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle 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 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.
Facts about Kigali International Airport (KGL):
- The furthest airport from Kigali International Airport (KGL) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,920 miles (19,183 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
- Kigali International Airport (KGL) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Kigali International Airport (KGL) is Kirundo Airport (KRE), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) S of KGL.
- Because of Kigali International Airport's high elevation of 4,891 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KGL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KGL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- Rwandair has its head office on the top floor of the airport's main building.